A sad week for motorcycle racing

 A double death

I have total admiration for the men who take part in motorcycle racing; while the Lewis Hamilton's of F1 get the big money, the risks they take are far less than those taken by motorcycle racers. An incident this weekend shows this to its fullest extent, 26-year-old Chrissy Rouse died after an accident at Donnington Park last weekend.

The crash occurred when Chrissy went into the third bend; his bike hit a patch of water and threw him to the ground. The rider behind had no opportunity to avoid him and ran over his head. Chrissy was probably dead on impact, had he survived he'd be in a coma for who knows how long.

While we mourn his loss, we should also think of the mental stress of the other rider involved, all though nobody will apportion blame for his actions; he will live with the knowledge he ran over Chrissy. He had no choice as the accident happened in an instant, but that won't help ease his mind.

If that had been F1, the drivers would have walked free, and at the most had a few strong words about the crash - who deserves the higher wage - motorcycling has always been a "poor man's sport." 

While Lewis and his friends drive around in expensive motorhomes, the top motorcyclists, even world champions, ride for the love of motorcycling.

The other death this week was that of Phil Read; I recall reading of the weekly contests he had with the likes of Jim Redman, Bill Ivy, Giacomo Agostini, and Mike Hailwood.

Update

Another rider is fighting for his life after an accident during a World Superbike race in Faro, Portugal. The rider who crashed in Faro died two days ago.