28 Motorcycle Racers...

At a superbike race this past weekend at Laguna Seca in California, 28 racers started. Five were involved in an accident almost immediately at the start of the race. Tragically, two of them later died of their injuries.



Weirdly, both riders that died were from Spain. In fact, they were the only riders from Spain in the race.

What are the odds that both riders from Spain would be killed?

Clearly a death sport.
I'm sure if Face ever goes that fast, he is surrounded with roll bars.

Quote: terapined

Clearly a death sport.
I'm sure if Face ever goes that fast, he is surrounded with roll bars.

It's sort of funny. Surrounded by roll bars, I'm going about highway speeds. In fact, it'd be a sad day that I ever got pulled over in any state going as fast as I do on the track (maybe a tick over 70 mph).

Going as fast as the guys in the clip (actually about 60mph faster than them), I was surrounded by traffic and trees ("Traffic and Trees", I think that's gonna be the name of my debut C&W album =))

It's odd, the disconnect. Even assuming those were litre bikes, they still couldn't have been going that fast. Laguna Seca's front stretch elevates, and those things already lift the wheel more than readily even in third gear. You might be "hammer down", but even hammer down is a very controlled roll-on. And they wrecked just after the S/F line. I don't watch AMA races, but I know how much power they have, and how much power I had. Even if they were way in the back and had the whole front stretch run-up, I can't imagine they were doing much more than 120, if that. You can't tromp going uphill from standing. You'll blow it over backwards.

Seeing them tumble into a nice, soft sand trap... and they died? Then thinking I used to do 170 through traffic and trees on the most poorly maintained interstate in the country? It doesn't make sense. I sort of wish I wish still doing it (or found WoV / DT sooner) as the mental processes would be an interesting discussion.

Given the flying motorbikes in that scene, I suspect it was not the declaration of the bodies into the sand trap that got them.

Rivas had a mechanical issue that caused his bike to suddenly lose power. He put his hand up to signal the riders behind him, but still ended up getting run over after a collision put him on the pavement.

It's sad, but I'm still wondering why it was the two guys from Spain, the only guys in the race from Spain, that got their tickets punched.