Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/491629
CN III VOICES L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R "What will this year in MotoGP hold for us?" Watch Out For Rossi You have all heard at one point or another that an old tiger closer to his end is even more danger- ous. Could this be the case with Rossi? Now in his late 30s, the legend that Rossi is may very well be taking the attitude of: "I have nothing to lose, so [screw] it!" Though still the strategic master on the track, we very well might see his best racing yet, that is if he can keep the mighty Marc Marquez in his sights and not let him run away with the whole damn thing. What will this year in MotoGP hold for us? Jaime Ponce Via the Internet Track Safety Ten to 15 years ago, Rich Daly of Dyno Port wrote a faux article about the government banning motocross because of safety issues and people getting hurt. Rich talked about then getting rid of doubles and huge jumps to make things safer but never got much attention. Why couldn't something like this be done? If the AMA would step in and set some more rules for local tracks to get sanctions, they could force tracks to fill in the massive doubles or triples at least at the local level and fill them in to create big tabletops. They can still be a large and challenging jump but don't have the severe repercus- sions that you face if you come up short and slam in to the face of the last jump. It's a good place to start and dirt isn't exactly the hardest thing to find at or near an MX track. Do that and bring back the two- strokes and I think there's a good start to making the sport safer. Chad Murray Via the Internet As a racing observer, I like Kevin Windham and thank him for his massive contributions to the sport over the years, but completely disagree with his current view and statements. I find it surpris- ing that with many human beings, the setting of unrealistic goals when it relates to "dangerous" sporting activities and attempt to make them more "mainstream" or like other forms of transportation. Kevin should note that he was not so concerned with all of this when he was; single, younger and carefree. He is finding (as we all do) that with age comes apprehension and concern for one's self-preservation and well- being. That, along with the fact he is now a parent only escalates any perceptions and anxieties he may have, reference his com- ment that he is "thankful his son doesn't want to race." Associating safety as it relates to the aviation industry and professional motor sports is senseless. One is directly linked to the safe transport of people with a correlating expectation of benign transportation (similar to a car, bus or train), the other is an individual choice to participate or expose oneself to very high and some may say unnecessary risk (unnecessary since it is a personal choice to do so, not a requirement to get from point A to B). Believing professional (ama- teur) high speed motorcycle/ car/boat racing can be similar to passenger transportation is unreasonable. That being stated; should we do nothing? No. Should we look for ways and means to keep riders and drivers safe? Abso- lutely. Examples of that would be; sufficient runoff and removal of obstacles surrounding any racing surface. Jumps, whoops, etc. are harder to define. But possibly it should be left up to those who compete, not those who don't. Would Kevin had been happy, if when he was 19 years old, someone else made decisions on which bike or track he could or could not ride/race on? Choices are what human freedoms are all about. We will make good ones and bad ones, but when they only affect us, we should be able to choose absent any external interference and as parents make those choices for our children, just as Kevin would like. I abhor any decision made on my behalf or those for my chil- dren absent of my participation (for any reason or justification… because there is none). I still love to ride, but choose not to race. Still love to jump, but I double when everyone else triples, single when everyone else doubles. Many people be- lieve I am "crazy" for even throw- ing a leg over a road or MX bike at my age, but what they don't understand it is "my choice" to do so and what I believe adds to making my life full and rewarding. Scott Uhrmann Via the Internet Letters to the editor can be sent to voices@cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Letters should not exceed 150 words and are subject to editing. Anonymous letters won't be considered for publication and each letter should contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number… Editor P16