P118
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
S
o, it's all starting up again.
Probably. Apparently. In
some places, anyway.
Real racing in the USA, in front
of empty grandstands and with a
skeleton staff in the pits. Prac-
tice laps in Spain and Italy, and
in Andorra. With just two or three
out on the track at the same
time.
Things can only get better,
as long as there isn't a second
wave on the way.
All the same, this coronavirus
thing could just end up spoiling
bike racing for a very long time.
You might think it already has.
By stopping it from happening.
This is just the beginning.
Even when we do get properly
going again around the world
(we will, surely?), the viral impli-
cations are long-lasting.
Wise or maybe merely self-
opinionated men like to say that
this pandemic will change the
way we live, in every respect.
Not sure I agree, give or take a
few missed handshakes, air-
kisses and man-hugs. Leopards,
after all, don't change their
spots.
The only real potential change
that some seem to see as impor-
tant is a permanent application
of "social distancing." In every-
thing we do.
Including motorcycle racing.
Imagine a MotoGP race
(remember them?) with social
distancing rules. No overtaking,
unless by prior written agree-
ment and a stamped and signed
official form, always preserving
a gap of at least two meters. A
disappointment, when you think
back to classic touch-and-go
Phillip Island, Silverstone, Mug-
ello and many other MotoGP
races over recent years.
Compulsory processional rac-
ing. An echo of a Mick Doohan-
stretched past best forgotten,
when all the rest were spaced
out widely trying in vain to catch
up with a massively superior
talent.
That is clearly a facetious
suggestion. But perhaps not
entirely. And it's not just the track
action under threat.
Those intimate heads-together
chats between riders and their
crew chiefs? History. They'll
have to consult one another by
WhatsApp. Facebook. Snap-
RACING
AT A (SOCIAL)
DISTANCE
