Isle of Man TT

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Kharza-kzad_sl

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You might not have ever heard of it, but there's a really amazing Motorbike event that takes place every year on the Isle of Man. It is a road race over a 30ish mile course through towns and over a big mountain. Average speed is around 130 for the big bikes.

Being american I hadn't really heard of it until just the past few years. It is very impressive to watch as you get a much better sensation of speed vs a circuit. To me even F1 cars look slow on a circuit sometimes. But these guys are flying through little towns past houses and trees and it is all just a blur.

The downside is, it is quite dangerous. Someone is usually killed every year. Practice week starts in 4 days.

 
Eomer

Eomer

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Shit looks insane. Decent video that gives a different perspective than the onboard one above does. Giant testicles on anyone who competes in this.

 
F

Fazana_sl

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The North West 200 is on around now which is based around the northern coast of Northern Ireland. The main racing is tomorrow and Saturday, the weather is a bit shite so far this year and practise already had to be cancelled because of rain the other day.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motorsport/22592348

They get up to crazy speeds on the road course, someone hit 208mph last year. Plenty of fatalities as well, one of the legendary Dunlops was killed there in practise in 2008.

They expect anywhere from 120,000 to 150,000 people to be in attendance for the weekend racing.

Edit:

What current Formula One driver Mark Webber thought whilst watching the Isle Of Man TT last year...
 
Ameraves

Ameraves

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The most unfortunate thing about Isle of Mann TT is it isn't just the guys riding that die, but the spectators as well. I used to love riding, prior to my crash, and I get a rush just watching those guys. I don't know how they do it. Balls of solid steel I suppose.
 
K

Kharza-kzad_sl

shitlord
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Fazana_sl said:
The North West 200 is on around now
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I was really happy the bbc was letting me stream that. And I watched for a few hours while two guys in a tent + Ian Hutchinson blathered about random stuff while they waited. Sad they called it off.

Edit - I should say though, would have been crazy to race in that rain, so I guess I'm not sad about that.
 
Leadsalad

Leadsalad

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The slow-mo death wobble when they go over that small divot in the township ilicits a huge NOPE from me and I have to stop watching.

I just can't watch motorcycle racing because I spend 99% of it just worrying about when they're going to crash and having to see those hooooorrrrrible rag doll bodies just rolling and flopping away from the flying cycles.

But I love me some ALMS/ILMS.
 
jooka

jooka

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Ameraves_sl said:
The most unfortunate thing about Isle of Mann TT is it isn't just the guys riding that die, but the spectators as well. I used to love riding, prior to my crash, and I get a rush just watching those guys. I don't know how they do it. Balls of solid steel I suppose.
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Fans know what they are getting into, just like getting front row to a nascar race.
 
Eomer

Eomer

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I'm not sure that that's true at all. Shit has come a long way since the Le Mans disaster:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster

I would imagine that most people viewing a race at a professional race course/track would have a reasonable expectation of safety, given the huge walls and fences and the like. However yeah, if you're attending something like the Isle of Man TT or Newfoundland Targa, you shouldn't expect utmost safety due to the temporary nature of the courses. Hell, if you live along the route in the Targa, there's a good chance some idiot will hit your house at some point:

 
Eomer

Eomer

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Shit like that happens with less and less frequency, and again, race fans attend under the assumption that reasonable steps have been made to prevent injuries at permanent race courses in all but the most exceptional circumstances.
 
jooka

jooka

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Ya I agree, they have made huge strides in fan safety since February
rolleyes.png
 
Borzak

Borzak

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jooka_sl said:
Fans know what they are getting into, just like getting front row to a nascar race.
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Look at the youtube videos of the fans in the Baja style races. I would post some here but the ones where a sepctatorisn'thit are hard to find.
 
O

Oo__sl

shitlord
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Weird how spectators standing right next to the race track (and occasionally on it) looks so good. The thing at 2:19 they'd do with every car, some kind of Portuguese variant of Pamplona bull run I guess.

 
K

Kharza-kzad_sl

shitlord
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The first itv show was just on, about Connor Cummins. He crashed really hard in 2010, and I had seen it a dozen times, but I didn't realize how bad it messed him up. He's got a lot of metal screws in his bones now.
 
LachiusTZ

LachiusTZ

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Been following Isle of Mann and Moto GP for years . . . easily the best racing event in the world imo.

Like Amerave, I get the rush watching, but will be buying another bike in the next few years. I miss it too much.
 
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