Quote:
Originally Posted by Zaph42
Ok here I go, I'm going to be the guy that disagrees. Preparing flame suit.
At first I and many others were on the side of the track day org. (Keigwins) I had assumed the guy, a typical Panigale rider with a dangerous lack of skill and a bike that's way faster than he has any business being on, blew a turn and rode off until he hit something. But a lot of people saw the video and opinions changed. The sandbag right was at the edge of the track in a place where there should be runoff area. Not good. There you have it - someone was negligent.
I already know all the typical responses - He missed the morning meeting, He knew the sandbags were there as he saw them on a previous lap, He was riding above his skill level, he needs money for hit startup, etc. But putting a sandbag right next to the track and leaving it there is almost as negligent as putting a lamp post there. There is no talking around that.
Make no mistake, I love our track day orgs, and I hate idiots who try to sue when they crash in what is an inherently dangerous activity. But there are elements of this case that greatly favor Kim. As big of a dirbag as Daniel Kim seems to be, Keigwins is likely to lose the case. It doesn't make me happy though.
Does anyone see what I'm saying?
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I am in somewhat agreement with you.
Having ridden with many, many orgs and on tracks with various "hazards" in place, little to 0 runoff in corners, concrete walls, armco, potholes in the track, cones ON the track surface, ruts in the runnoff, ect, ect, ect, bla bla bla The sandbag thing is a safety issue for me and those that know me note that I have a very high tolerance for risks. But I do adjust my riding and attitude accordingly. At Mid-Ohio this would NOT fly and the track would go red or at the very least... ANOTHER rider's meeting would be called, the area would be well marked with multiple cones and coaches and corner workers would be on high alert. I mean... WTF why even have runoff if you are just going to dot it up with obstacles? Might as well be a mail box there, it's the same difference in the end. This is Laguna we are talking about, they should have this down to a science for a top notch facility. I got a $20 spot that says those bags are not there during AMA/MotoGP racing. Wonder why????
Then there are those comments like; "but the bags where past the corner and in the straight section." This is even WORSE!!! So you're telling me, let's put speed bumps where we are telling riders to be on the throttle and going faster. I am not finding the common sense in that argument.
To me it's rather simple, if the bags are their to control water drainage. AND it's clearly NOT raining in the video, so... someone needs to go pick them up STAT. Wet and soggy runnoff is all too common. While I don't agree with the law suit, the bags add an unnecessary risk factor in relation to the amount of benefit they are providing at the time of use in the video. Imho, this is why the guy will most likely get some sort of settlement.
Plain and simple, if I were coaching a group, any and all ON and OFF track trouble spots would be covered with my group. I would tell them to leave a bit in the tank through that section, JUST IN CASE.
Problem is... you can't fix the error or silliness of some riders.
