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I've been wondering for a while why the Nationals run the tall yellow barriers on the insides of some corners. Seems like every so often a guy nails one. I recall JS7 racing RC one time and catching his front brake on one, throwing him over the bars. Now at Unadilla Nelson was life-flighted out after apparently clipping a barrier which may have led to his crash. The pros are often seen threading the needle around them at high speeds.
Why is there anything on track tall enough to run handlebars into? All I can think of is the vision aspect. The bigger the object is, the more likely a rider will notice it and stay on the race course. Are they advertising on these barriers? My recollection fails me...... Can someone explain the logic behind the design for me?
I realize lean angles will change depending on the corner and rider, but a lower to the ground approach makes more sense to me. Not sure why the barriers can;t be something like 1 foot tall by few feet long and still bright yellow. Chamfer the edges and put the ad stickers on top. Stake them down and good to go.
Why is there anything on track tall enough to run handlebars into? All I can think of is the vision aspect. The bigger the object is, the more likely a rider will notice it and stay on the race course. Are they advertising on these barriers? My recollection fails me...... Can someone explain the logic behind the design for me?
I realize lean angles will change depending on the corner and rider, but a lower to the ground approach makes more sense to me. Not sure why the barriers can;t be something like 1 foot tall by few feet long and still bright yellow. Chamfer the edges and put the ad stickers on top. Stake them down and good to go.
The turn round the tree had a barrel shaped thing marking the inside , and that ended up in the middle of the track . Everyone then cut inside where it would have been , and went to the fence.
3 bales were put in the landing area after the Gravity cavity, and they all got blown out, within 5 laps or so.
And i noticed someone( maybe Wilson) running down the grass after the Skyshot a few times.
Musquin ( and others) up the bank under the bridge.. and thats just what we saw on screen.
Its the same in GP's , guys skirting jumps etc..
Personally , i think the tracks look great, have good marking and sympathetic to trackside fans advertising.
Is it any more dangerous that the Red Bull arch or Monster bridges.. no
The Shop
I was in the section where Jessy went down earlier, and it was rough and rutted from one side to the other, but so was the whole track after a full day of racing. I didn't see the crash and can't really tell by the video, but we are checking on Jessy this morning and hoping there's more positive news. Needless to say, we are all hoping and praying he makes a full recovery.
And #677 Cody Williams stopping to help him was an exceptional and selfless act by a fellow rider. Well done.
DC
And X2 on Williams stopping to help. Pretty cool to see that one's safety takes precedent over a race result.
DC
In the old days riders didn't need track barriers
Is now the time to shorten those yellow barriers down to hay bale height? I've never understood why those things needed to be that tall to begin with.
Pit Row
I was rolling that day with Phil Aldetton who was heavier then usual. Phil was dressed all in yellow and resembled a bee slightly. We got a lot of looks that day.
Man I miss that guy.
Rightly or wrongly I'm under the impression Nelson hit one of the taller yellow barriers and not the short yellow Acerbis markers I've been railing against for years.
Whatever the solution is it definitely is NOT more of the short yellow Acerbis track markers.
Safety... If doing something can save one person from a needless serious injury, it needs to be done... And be done before the first person gets hurt....
Shall we look at f1? They don't use physical barriers to mark their track... They use video tape to dock drivers that get too far off the track...
Having a barrier that is handlebar height on an mx track is far less than optimal... I know everyone loves to hate on the short acerbis plastic stakes, but they do there job with nearly no chance of causing injury... While not cheap or easy, it is possible that video is the ultimate answer....
Back on topic riders will always push the boundaries of the track, especially on the insides of corners. I would be cautious of anything to substantial around jumps and downhills though.
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