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I agree it’s a weak excuse and needs to be attended to but let’s not act like this was some crazy dangerous thing. It was a freak accident. Let’s not burn mx sports at the stake over it. Sometimes shit happens and playing armchair quarterback after the fact is easy.
There is both track building guidelines, rules and mandatory track inspections in most developed Mx countries by now 😅
Thats why I have a hard time accepting the bitching about when tracks or promotors get sued. If they can't care for track security themselves, what did I they think was going to happen?
That track, and there are more places, wouldnt pass any security audit I know of. There is a minimum 7 foot clearance around most obstacles, to start with.
So tragic it results in serious injuries because of neglect. That could easily have been a broken neck and end of his life.
He only landed inside the track markers because he hit the tree. Otherwise he would have pulled a Jordan Smith off the side.
Should probably clear cut Washougal now as well for safety,
Not just directed at you, but it is a bit interesting the amount of comments saying the tree shouldn’t be there and you shouldn’t hit a tree if you make a mistake, etc, but a majority of the same folks say a 60’ cliff on the back side of a berm is fine and it’s the riders responsibility to not make the mistake or choose not not ride. I get the related lawsuit skews the opinions, and I am not saying I agree with sueing, but I don’t see how the scenarios are any different, yet they garner a different reaction.
No person with experience from building safe tracks would say that (such) drop does not require fencing on top of berm.
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lol 60’ cliff. Come on Rich you don’t need to keep making the berm your kid whiskied off of taller and taller!
lol, ok, 40? 30? 10? What ever the number is, doesn’t change that it’s no different then a tree off the side of the track, but the comments from most are the exact opposite. LACR=riders fault, Loretta’s=tracks fault. Explain the difference?
Edit, looked at the thread with Rich’s statement, he said 30’, my mistake.
I think banning stacyc bikes from the pits will remedy this
Didn’t Scotty Sheak ( RIP ) hit a tree branch at Southwick one year ? It seems to me that he got knocked out cold. Scary as hell.
I was witness to that, he dropped like a sack of potatoes. RIP Scott.
had a friend pass away at age 16 (when I was about 12) by hitting a tree similar to this.
You think DC will now ban the guy that took the video for showing "the sport in a negative light"?
Are we allowed to criticize DC/MX Sports without being accused of aligning with Cooksey? Can we carve out a space for that?
I run a fairly large motocross series. The worst thing that has happened all year is a Stacyc collision with a rider coming off the track. The child was out cold for several minutes and a very scary situation. Time and place, and running around the pits of a busy race track isn't the time or place.
Not true. People have hit that tree before. This has just been the worst accident (that I know of).
I saw a video on my feed this morning which seems to show exactly that. Dude is filming and gets "served" by the representative at the track and asked to leave. I'll see if I can find it.
EDIT: (It may also be that the dude's credentials were not in order, but he presented the video as if he was getting kicked out because he showed the crash.)
yeah it's the "Slowie" thread. Thus my comment. If you don't kiss DC's ring, you're out.
someone get Rich Taylor on the courtesy phone ASAP!
I can't wrap my head around the mentality of "he made a mistake and hit the tree" or "shit happens". These dudes are racing at the highest amateur level. Of course shit happens. That's why the tree shouldn't be there to begin with. Until promoters get into the routine of making tracks safe FOR when shit happens, tracks will keep getting sued. This mentality has gone through every form of car and motorcycle road racing 30 years ago. The sport is dangerous enough as it is.
Washougal has taken a number of trees down in the last few years to improve safety. Mostly in the section after Crandall's Cliff and coming down after the Road jump.
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This years Washougal they set that massive round bale of hay to be used as a right side track marker and keep racers from drifting to the right for more track. It was a very highspeed I believe going downhill section. Several times riders got very close but no one tagged it. But the speeds going by it were probably in excess of 35 plus mph. It is what it is I guess
Yeah, watching this years broadcast I was thinking, "man, I guess they have always been there, but these guys are FLYING past trees that are VERY close"...
It made me uneasy. *But I was also laying my chair nursing a broken (chipped) hip from the the day before...
Canning is a past JDay offroad champion, he knows how to go around trees fast. I'm sure he knew that tress was there, and what the consequences of hitting it could be. It just wasn't his day, unfortunately.
Yeah watching t he broadcast that big bale seemed to be in a bad place
Washougal Jeremy Hand accident is just another example of clueless track safety. If you are going to have a crowd that close to track, you need to protect them.
Put up a wooden fence at the top of the jump so bikes at least cant go sideways towards the crowd but only in the direction of the track. We would easily have to do that, but I doubt we would be allowed to have people that close in that position regardless.
Was a pretty scary getoff in Loket a few weeks before the GP ran now. Come GP, there was a large fence put up like 30-40 meters long to prevent it from happening again.
It was a Gajser oversized track marker 😅
At least this one you could see clearly but i agree it shouldn't have been there. Coming out of that sweeping turn high speed. Just a matter of time before someone gets pushed out there or they lock bars and hitting it.
I saw that - what a sketchy place to put a massive hay bale. Another local track likes to use huge loader tires. They have as much give as a tree.
Keep the tree, move the track. Promoters are stupid.
Taking a tree away from a jump doesn’t mean “cut all trees down”, there’s a perfect middle ground in slightly altering the track
I would argue Canning made a much less significant mistake than Rich’s son, not that it’s a competition or either of them need to blamed, but these aren’t the same situation
If that makes you nervous you should go watch a GNCC.
There were steel cables on a jump at Red Bud that were very close to the track itself.
Post a reply to: The tree at Loretta’s, WTF??