VOLUME 57 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 21, 2020 P85
successful formula, whose riders are household names all over
the planet, and they're compensated as they should be. I want
our paddock to aspire to that, because I think that the sport has
got the draw. So the first big strategic thing for us next year is
to really promote the SuperTwins class, and to use broadcast
technologies and channels to communicate it globally.
The other really important ambition I have for 2020 is to
kick safety up to the next level. It's no secret that our sport is
inherently very risky—it's fast, it relies on you breaking trac-
tion, and you don't have a lot in the way of run-off or braking
to help. So, it's an inherently very technical, very tricky form
of motorcycle racing, which is part of the reason why it's so
captivating to watch. But we know that going into the 2020s,
the mood of the public and sponsors and OEM's worldwide
is that safety is of utmost importance. No one likes to see a
tragedy, and we must protect these
riders who week-in, week-out place
themselves at risk for the love of the
sport, and for the entertainment of
the fans. So, we've got a number of
initiatives for next year that we're going
to kick in to aid with safety. The first
one is that we're mandating in Super-
Twins the use of airbag suits. Airbags
themselves are not inherently new, but
what is new is that our series partner
Dainese has modified the algorithms
in their existing airbag technology to
be much more sensitive to the use
and the challenges of flat track. And
we felt that that technology had moved
on sufficiently that we were now ready
and comfortable to mandate their use
in our senior class, and to look at how
quickly we could also mandate their
use in the junior classes. It will make
a big difference. Flat track racers fall
off, even the good ones, and to have
their vital organs and their upper torso
much better protected I think is going
to make a big difference. So that's one
thing that we've done, but we're also
looking at a new project to be able
to have a rapid response unit at the
tracks, basically following the riders
on the first lap or two, and available at
a second's notice to be able to get to
any medical emergency. We've looked
at what they do in road racing and in
Supercross, and we're developing a
system to be able to provide a much
better, and much faster level of medi-
cal support in AFT than we have ever
done before.
Presumably that trail unit
would only ever be used on the
mile tracks, or could you use it
on a half-mile, too?
I don't see why not. If you think
about the lap time on a half-mile as
from the factories.
