Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 12 MARCH 24, 2015 P113 That's because you have expe- rienced it before. You've been through it so you have an idea of the hurt that it's causing those who do know the person injured or killed. What follows the loss is nor- mally a dialogue about safety. Can we make it safer? And sometimes that dialogue turns into a heated debate, when those questions of safety are seen to threaten the sport as a whole… perhaps put an end to it altogether. After Simon Andrews perished from a crash at last year's North- west 200—a race held on the public roads in Northern Ireland on sportbikes with speeds in excess of 200 mph—that debate was aired in the mainstream media in the UK. And it was not pretty. Unfortunately a hard line is drawn in the sand between mo- torcycle people and non-motor- cycle people. It's hard for people outside of the sport to grasp the risk versus the reward. Not more than a few weeks later, the dialogue was also brought again after there were fatalities two days apart, at one of the most famous road races (in the true sense of the word)— the Isle of Man TT. This time it was young MotoGP racer Scott Redding who raised his voice about whether the race was just too outside the comfort zone of safety. Redding knew both rac- ers, 64-year-old Bob Price who was a family friend and three- time British Supersport Cham- pion Karl Harris. After being so vocal on Twitter against a race that is revered by many, Red- ding was met with a lot of fervent opposition and personal attacks. Just for suggesting it. The Baja 1000 was also under attack a few years ago after we lost one of the greats in the sport—Kurt Caselli. Caselli was not only one of the top racers in the sport, but was well-liked for being such a down-to-earth, all- around great guy. And that loss had a lot of people question- ing, was the Baja 1000 just too unsafe? The silver lining of that tragedy was the birth of the Kurt Caselli Foundation, spearheaded by Ca- selli's family, friends and fiancé. Instead of looking at the sport as a lost cause, they came up with some solutions to help make off- road racing/riding safer. Based on evidence from the crash, it is believed that the cause of Ca- selli's fatal accident was due to hitting a large animal at speed. The cause of the accident, as well as other safety issues brought to light from his passing, had the Foundation looking at solutions like the Caselli Founda- tion helicopter at last year's 1000 to help fill in the gaps between the team's helicopters, allowing for more eyes in the sky. The Foundation also has pre-running trucks at various SCORE events to help clear the course before the bikes go through. Having ad- ditional air and vehicle support has made a difference. Now with another tragedy, this time in amateur motocross, the dialogue has been raised again—spearheaded by Kevin Windham. The retired racer and fan fa- vorite made an impassioned plea on his Instagram (see page 42) after the news that 14-year-old amateur motocross racer Tyler Hoeft succumbed to injuries from an accident at the JS7 Freestone Spring Champion- ship. Nothing is more polarizing in racing than when it involves a kid. But for Windham, who has children of his own, it was more than that. He had lost a good friend, Dirt Wurx' Chris Blaken- ship and with another loss in the sport he thought it was time to start asking questions. Although safety in the sport of racing can be a bit uncomfort- able, it's time to have that talk. Having someone like Windham spearheading that dialogue is a great start and hopefully others will jump on board. Racing never will be safe. But there are ways to make it safer without sacrificing its integrity. CN

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