Southern 100 Deaths

[ADELE]

There have been fatal accidents before involving none participants and the races have endured.  No doubt there will be more regulations regarding viewing places.   I don’t know where the feeling comes from that the general public do not support the races or that interest and support is waning most of the people I know love the buzz and the feeling of the Island coming alive even if they do not go to watch the actual performances.    

[thommo2010]

1 hour ago, Banker said:

Something for the anti brigade to view 

https://www.three.fm/news/isle-of-man-news/youtube-southern-100-crash-video-sparks-anger/

Looks like the video has been removed

[WTF]

39 minutes ago, wrighty said:

 I think we're approaching that point. 

we've been approaching it for 30 years according to the crystal ball brigade , i get that you'd like less work out of it though.

[Shake me up Judy]

36 minutes ago, wrighty said:

The Motorsport crowd will never give it up, but it won't be their decision. The public will decide that having riders and marshals destroyed on their doorstep (yes I know, boat in the morning, live somewhere else etc) is no longer acceptable. I think we're approaching that point. 

But who's going to make that decision ? You won't hear a peep from Tynwald. The motorsport lobby is very influential and they will decide. That's how it works. Unless the decision comes from outside it just won't happen.

[Happier diner]

15 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said:

But who's going to make that decision ? You won't hear a peep from Tynwald. The motorsport lobby is very influential and they will decide. That's how it works. Unless the decision comes from outside it just won't happen.

They will have no decision to make. No insurer. No event.

[Mr Helmut Fromage]

14 minutes ago, ADELE said:

There have been fatal accidents before involving none participants and the races have endured.  No doubt there will be more regulations regarding viewing places.   I don’t know where the feeling comes from that the general public do not support the races or that interest and support is waning most of the people I know love the buzz and the feeling of the Island coming alive even if they do not go to watch the actual performances.    

The buzz and the feeling of the Island coming alive and needless deaths shouldn’t be confused 

No word soup today….

[Tailless]

2 hours ago, joebean said:

I would be surprised if racing on the S100 course is yet done but I suspect that some significant changes may be required. Whether that continues to be attractive racing for fans is another matter. The major threat to road racing here, insurance premiums aside, is the mobile device which we all carry and can witness, record and share graphic crash footage before any dust has settled. I’ve been saying this for a few years and we are lucky that something horrible has not yet been shared. It is a matter of time and the reputational damage for the events and the Island will be significant. 

I don't see mobile devices as an issue.  Surely it allows a wider view of what actually happens during events and is therefore more likely to inform public opinion accordingly?  Public opinion is then more educated. Few will argue that mobile devices capturing events such as crimes, police brutality, etc are a bad thing.  There is an issue with doctoring of video, but that is where multiple views taken by different people from different perspectives helps.

[0bserver]

1 hour ago, wrighty said:

The Motorsport crowd will never give it up, but it won't be their decision. The public will decide that having riders and marshals destroyed on their doorstep (yes I know, boat in the morning, live somewhere else etc) is no longer acceptable. I think we're approaching that point. 

I don't disagree with you @wrightythere could certainly be a change in public opinion.

But the island has a government that is both scared of changed and doesn't know how to change. They'll throw literally limitless money at sustaining the status quo.

[0bserver]

2 hours ago, ADELE said:

There have been fatal accidents before involving none participants and the races have endured.  No doubt there will be more regulations regarding viewing places.   I don’t know where the feeling comes from that the general public do not support the races or that interest and support is waning most of the people I know love the buzz and the feeling of the Island coming alive even if they do not go to watch the actual performances.    

There may be things that make this incident slightly different to previous ones. We really should wait for the investigation to be completed before judging. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by 0bserver

[0bserver]

2 hours ago, Happier diner said:

Where have you been for the last few months?

Took a bit of time away from social media and that kind of thing. 

It's been good. We should all try it occasionally.

[Ghost Ship]

1 hour ago, Tailless said:

I don't see mobile devices as an issue.  Surely it allows a wider view of what actually happens during events and is therefore more likely to inform public opinion accordingly?  Public opinion is then more educated...

I think what @joebean was getting at was that at some point videos might get posted on social media graphically illustrating catastrophic injuries* and that that would not be a good thing for the continuance of the TT and other motorcycle racing events.

 

*The main TT thread has, for example, previously made references to riders being decapitated.  Whether true or not I don't know, but obviously a video of anything like that that got onto social media could only be bad for the TT.

Edited July 14, 2023 by Ghost Ship

[Tailless]

7 minutes ago, Ghost Ship said:

I think what @joebean was getting at was that at some point videos might get posted on social media graphically illustrating catastrophic injuries* and that that would not be a good thing for the continuance of the TT and other motorcycle racing events.

 

*The main TT thread has, for example, previously made references to riders being decapitated.  Whether true or not I don't know, but obviously a video of anything like that that got onto social media could only be bad for the TT.

I agree there are limits to what is acceptable. Gratuitous postings of gore whether bike, car, war or crime related are never acceptable.  They usually get taken down quickly in most cases when posted publicly. But we'll never be able to stop people from recording everything good or bad again. On balance I think there are more advantages than disadvantages.

[manxman1980]

4 hours ago, wrighty said:

I'll predict this: Bilown racing is done.  The organisers will not be able to get insurance, and it'll go the way of the Irish races which seem to have all but stopped.  Next up will be MGP, which seems to be being gradually wound down in any case.  TT will go on for a few more years, but unless they can somehow move away from ever increasing lap records and re-invent it as an IOM festival with bike racing thrown in, it won't need many more 'big ones' or 'abnormal crashes' (That seem to happen every 3-4 years) to finish it off.

Billown racing has not had that many fatalities has it?  29 (it will be up to 31 now) since 1958 according to Wikipedia.  I think speeds tend to be lower on the Billown Circuit s the layout of the course naturally slows riders down.  Surprisingly racing against each other so closely probably brings speeds down as well.

4 hours ago, Capt_Mainwaring said:

 

My prediction is you're bang on with Billown. Or as a minimum trial with no mass starts. But I think the course itself is inherently too dangerous for today's speeds and spectators are very close, so I'm saying it's done.

 

Not sure how you would do a staggered start at Billown?  It is only about 4 miles per lap and you would cause more accidents by staggering the start as the fast riders quickly catch the slower ones. 

It was also my understanding that this tragic incident occurred at the end of the session not at the start?

[TheTeapot]

14 minutes ago, Ghost Ship said:

I think what @joebean was getting at was that at some point videos might get posted on social media graphically illustrating catastrophic injuries* and that that would not be a good thing for the continuance of the TT and other motorcycle racing events.

 

*The main TT thread has, for example, previously made references to riders being decapitated.  Whether true or not I don't know, but obviously a video of anything like that that got onto social media could only be bad for the TT.

Personally I find the way open discussion can be shut down, the 'omerta', far worse than a potentially gruesome video after a major incident.

As mentioned above the races need public support. I'm no fan, but the obvious joy it brings to so many and the fact that it is so nuts in a risk averse world means I'm keen for it to continue. But the way the big supporters behave following a bad accident pisses me off something silly, they should be far more open and honest - and willing to listen to non bikers - or they will lose the support. 

[offshoremanxman]

10 minutes ago, Tailless said:

I agree there are limits to what is acceptable. Gratuitous postings of gore whether bike, car, war or crime related are never acceptable.  They usually get taken down quickly in most cases when posted publicly. But we'll never be able to stop people from recording everything good or bad again. On balance I think there are more advantages than disadvantages.

I agree we are living in the age of social media you can’t stop people posting up content and people aren’t going to stop doing it either now. I doubt the footage is as bad as some of the reports from people who were there anyway.