Indomitable Racers

The most memorable racing comebacks revisited

If you are a professional motorcycle racer, you will get hurt and most likely quite badly hurt. that is just the way it is — even these days, it is a dangerous game. indeed, the ability to bounce back from injury is every bit as important as the ability to ride around corners fast, because as a professional racer, you will not be able to do one without the other. sometimes, however, riders do not so much bounce back from injury as crawl back, grimacing through the pain and climbing on to the bike when the rest of us would be climbing back into bed.

it is not only the hardware of their bodies, it is the software of their minds. if riders allow any fear to creep into their psyche, then their days as competitive racers are done.

the determination and pain threshold of these riders are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. many outsiders declare them to be mad. and, perhaps, they are, but the alternative — not going racing — would only make them madder.