‘Sepang served up a grim racing reminder’
After all the fun and games, the titles won, the celebrations enjoyed, there is sadly a rather bleak theme this week, for the Malaysian GP served up a grim reminder of the truth about motorcycle racing.
It’s dangerous – and not only in an edge-of-seat way. Thankfully, it is mercifully very rare that a fallen rider pays the ultimate price, so when it happens it’s a terrible shock.
This was not always the case.
In the earliest days of the World Championship, soon after the carnage of World War Two, racing and death were inextricably linked. Riders from that era recall avoiding close friendships with rivals as by the end of the weekend they might no longer be there.
An echo of this remains in racing on public roads but to a mercifully lesser extent thanks to a number of factors ranging from better tyres and safety equipment to vastly improved medical facilities. Malaysia’s incident, which took the life of a rising 20-year-old from
‘It’s rare a fallen rider pays the ultimate price’
Indonesia, was one of those against which no run-off areas, gravel traps and air-bag leathers can mitigate. Afridza Munandar was a double winner in the Asia Talent Cup series, one of a growing number of Dornabacked series nurturing young riders. The British Talent Cup is another and the Asian series has already fed some great riders and GP-winners into Moto3 and Moto2. Munandar was near the front on the first lap when he tagged the back of another bike in the middle of a fast chicane and was thrown under the wheels of the inevitably very close chasing pack.
He didn’t get away with it.
One day later, in the Moto3 race, leader Gabriel Rodrigo similarly fell in front of a massive gang. Two other riders went down but by some miracle none was hit by any of the following 26, all still very close. They got away with it.
In each case, it was a matter of centimetres between life and death. Naturally, almost all of Sunday’s race podium finishers dedicated their results to Munandar, expressed condolences to his family, their sincerity beyond doubt. Marc Marquez summed it up best. “We all understand the risks we take to get the sweet moments. He was following his passion.”
Death is the inevitable fate of all mortals. Few get to choose the method or the moment.