P122
CN
III LOWSIDE
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
M
otorcycle racing is about
the closest thing I can
think of to a modern-day
gladiatorial contest.
Usually filled with self-assured
maniacs of varying skills, racing
brings an addictive, singular fo-
cus that's impossible to replicate
in the real world.
I've often said the only time I
have absolutely nothing else on
my mind is when I'm racing. It's
a glorious, Zen-like state where
the world's troubles melt away
and all that matters are you and
your motorcycle.
Until it doesn't.
Recently, I've noticed a
disturbing trend of riders hav-
ing little or no regard for others
when it all goes to crap, and
bad sportsmanship creeping
into racing the world over like it's
somehow in fashion.
There was a clip recently
that really got me angry from
the British Supersport race at
Donington Park. It involved 2019
Australian Supersport Champion
Tom Toparis and Ireland's Korie
McGreevy, the 2019 British Su-
perstock 600cc Champion.
Toparis high-sided leading
onto the front straight, launch-
ing himself into orbit with Mc-
Greevy given nowhere to go but
over Toparis' crashing Yamaha.
Toparis was clearly hurt, as
clearly as he didn't high-side on
purpose. You can see the clip of
the Toparis crash here.
McGreevy's reaction was
disgraceful, throwing his arms in
the air at Toparis and storming
off like a three-year-old who'd
been told he couldn't watch
cartoons that morning. He could
have instead chosen to at least
see if Toparis was okay, given
his anger a chance to subside,
but instead he showed the
attitude of a child, not a profes-
sional athlete.
On a higher level, we can
see Pol Espargaro's petulant
reaction on two fronts in Austria
last week. The first being his
DON'T BE THAT GUY
Korie McGreevy shows
exactly how not to act in
the heat of the moment.
