P114
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
I
am proud and happy to be
able to write this column about
this great sport of ours, a
sport where all concerned shall
henceforth live by the creed of
Professor Pangloss: "Everything
is for the best, in the best of all
possible worlds."
Prof Pangloss (I am proud
and happy to remind you) was a
fictional character in the comedy
classic "Candide," by Voltaire,
published in 1759.
The GP Commission's lat-
est directive, however, is not
fictional. If only. Instead it is a
directive from on high, effectively
gagging anything that could be
remotely described as critical to
racing. Looked at from that side,
it evokes more sinister novelistic
references: George Orwell's
"1984," Big Brother, and the all-
powerful Thought Police.
Wherein those committing
Thought Crime might be con-
signed to Room 101. There they
would be confronted by "the
worst thing in the world." This
might be different from one
individual to another. I suppose
the equivalent of Room 101 for
MotoGP might be World Super-
bikes.
The directive came as part of
the Commissions latest bulletin
of changes to the rues. The
main thrust is a new system of
Race Stewards who will relieve
Race Direction of the burden
of having to apply punishments
to riders who transgress. This
PROUD, HAPPY AND READY TO KICK
