A Question Of Attitude

[customhouseregular]

There have been a number of posts on the forum recently about riders not wanting to race on rough tracks, wet tracks, on a green light etc..

 

I watched a dvd yesterday called "Fastest", all about Valentino Rossi...7-times MotoGP World Champion. Now there is one truly great Motor cycle racer with 100% attitude.

 

Considering most speedway riders only spend between 5-8 minutes actually racing during a meeting, they would all do well to emulate Valentino.

[Ghostwalker]

It's easy for him to say that races on smooth asphalt tracks.

[customhouseregular]

At speeds up to 210 mph in extremely close proximity to other riders, throwing the bike in to left hand corners and immediately over in to right hand corners. knee to the ground with the bike at a 45 degree angle. Are you seriously saying Rossi's job is easier than a speedway rider's?.

[iris123]

To be honest I am with Ghostie,you are comparing chalk + cheese here.You might have a good point if you were comparing say the Danish(Mikkelsen + Bech maybe....) + Swedish 80cc riders a few years back who rode a test match in Vojens in really appaling conditions.Tha track was just pure mud and the riders were absolutely covered,but they just got on with it and rode.That is the youngsters who are just riding for fun and the pride in representing their country.Now compare that to when they grow up and it becomes a business......then it might be a thread of some merit

 

Seem to recall a meeting last year in Germany where the juniors went ahead with their races,but the more experienced riders wouldn't do theirs.......think it was at Teterow

Edited May 21, 2015 by iris123

[Ghostwalker]

I never said it was easy just that MotoGP riders doesn't have ride om tracks full of ruts and holes like

the speedway riders had to in Warsaw and Tammerfors (and the other temporary tracks).

If the riders on MotoGp would be faced with race tracks in MotoGP that they considered unsafe

don't you think that they would complain too?

 

I fully understand if the riders sometimes doesn't feel motivated to give 110% if the track looks like it did in

Warsaw which WAS way worse then Tammerfors (not the latter was particular good either though)

Edited May 21, 2015 by Ghostwalker

[customhouseregular]

I think all on the forum know that speedway is my 1st love and all other sports fall in line behind.It is Rossi's attitude, commitment and absolute dedication I was praising, which does seem to be lacking in a number of cases where speedway is concerned.

 

I love my speedway, even with all it's frustrations but riders are having to race for 60 seconds at a time at an average speed of c. 45 mph. The men at the top should be able to cope with all conditions and approach meetings with a positive mental attitude.

 

I'm not saying riders should race on dangerous tracks, far from it but I have attended meetings long ago where track conditions were far worse than Warsaw. I've seen meetings go ahead in the rain with a ton of sawdust put down, and as for the green light fiasco

 

Yes...Nicki Pedersen and co. are not Valentino Rossi, chalk and cheese maybe but my point was all speedway riders should emulate Rossi's attitude.

 

I shall retire behind the barricades to await the slings and arrows heading my way.

[Mark]

I dont see what is unreasonable to expect 16 of the best riders in the world to be able to race on a decent track. At Tampare riders would be doing about 65mph entering a bend which was too narrow, rutted or slippery.

 

Hancock is a rider who rides very safely. he does not come off his bike unless something unexpected happens yet he fell off on hos own because he could not control the bike.

 

I wouldn't blame the riders for saying 'we are not riding'. The blame lies with the management team who expect the riders to race to 100% on very poorly prepared tracks.

Edited May 21, 2015 by marky

[Ghostwalker]

I agree with you marky on that final line.

 

As for commitment I doubt Nicki is less committed then Rossi. The same goes for Greg. Both seems to have a very committed and professional attitude towards their racing.

Nicki for one rarely does a bad meeting in the leagues that he rides in. Of course it happens but almost always he will be on 10+ points for a league meeting.

Look at the top scorers in the leagues the past 5-10 years and I think you'll fins Nicki there for almost every year.

 

You don't achieve that by not being committed.

 

Then speedway is a different sport, the riders have to build up/manage their own team with mechanics, buses/transport vehicles, sponsors and etc.

For MotoGP the riders are the employee rather then the employer. It is the team that takes care of "everything" .

In speedway the rider has to allot of things by himself, sure Nicki has some staff in his team but I think only a few riders have that kind of economic possibility.

 

Many riders (including the gp riders) have to most things by themselves, then they are expect to ride on rubbish tracks knowing that a small mistake

can cost them to be sidelines for a week, a month or even worse. Then the problem is that they won't get paid anything for that so that will be a big loss of income.

 

As for Nicki and Greg leading the uprise against the track, they have been heavily criticized for it because it is considered that they were the

reason why the Waw gp was called off and that they were only doing it because the felt unfavoured by starting by light rather then by tape.

Think again, I think it could be the direct opposite. Nicki and Greg perhaps felt/noticed that the other riders weren't happy with the track

and the sort of took point since they perhaps felt that the young riders didn't have enough authority to question the state of the track.

[f-s-p]

At Tampare riders would be doing about 65mph entering a bend which was too narrow, rutted or slippery.

 

Speeds at Tampere were about 120 km/h entering turns. This was measured last year on Fredrik Lindgren. Cant see that having changed much for this year.

[superguest]

I think the situation with speedway riders not wishing to risk injury on a rutted track is completed valid.

 

They have to be able to race in up to 80 meetings a season. They do not get paid by their clubs if they are injured.

 

I am grateful to all speedway rider for giving it a go in tricky conditions, particually when you see so many injuries to their fellow riders.

 

This is no disrespect to Rossi. Who is obviously a exceptional character as well as racer.

I think the situation with speedway riders not wishing to risk injury on a rutted track is completed valid.

 

They have to be able to race in up to 80 meetings a season. They do not get paid by their clubs if they are injured.

 

I am grateful to all speedway riders for giving it a go in tricky conditions, particually when you see so many injuries to their fellow riders.

 

This is no disrespect to Rossi. Who is obviously a exceptional character as well as racer.