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Horizontally raining bikes
- Thread starter Krime
- Start date
If an engine decides the end of the connecting rod is better off outside, resulting in a huge hole in the crankcases, there's not a whole lot that's going to prevent the oil inside from scattering everywhere.
Roadrace bikes have oil-retaining lower fairings, but that's only capable of containing something that is gently dripping, not exploding out of the remnants of the engine in every possible direction.
Roadrace bikes have oil-retaining lower fairings, but that's only capable of containing something that is gently dripping, not exploding out of the remnants of the engine in every possible direction.
Put your thinking cap on for a moment, please.
Imagine, for a moment, that the first bike of the group to go into that corner of that meticulously clean track, had its engine explode.
What do you think is going to happen to the group of riders immediately following behind?
YES they clean the track. NO if the engine explosion happens in your session, that's not going to help you. YES they have belly pans. NO that will not stop oil from getting out in the event of a catastrophic engine explosion. YES they have track marshals who have a "debris" flag in their possession to warn riders of track contamination. NO this is not going to help the riders immediately following the one with the exploded engine ... the marshals won't have had time to figure out what is going on yet, and even at the best of times, once you pass one flag station it is a finite distance to the next one, and if the engine explosion happens between those flag stations and you happen to be between those flag stations behind the bike with the engine explosion, then even if the corner workers miraculously were able to put out debris flags the instant the engine explosion happens (which cannot happen in reality) you are STILL going to be riding through oil.
I've been that bike following someone who had an engine grenade. Happened at the entrance to the Carousel at Grand Bend. Fortunately, I was close enough to see the telltale signs half a second before the engine went boom, and used that half second to duck to the inside edge of the track, inside the path where the oil was going down. The rider behind me didn't see that, and went down.
Imagine, for a moment, that the first bike of the group to go into that corner of that meticulously clean track, had its engine explode.
What do you think is going to happen to the group of riders immediately following behind?
YES they clean the track. NO if the engine explosion happens in your session, that's not going to help you. YES they have belly pans. NO that will not stop oil from getting out in the event of a catastrophic engine explosion. YES they have track marshals who have a "debris" flag in their possession to warn riders of track contamination. NO this is not going to help the riders immediately following the one with the exploded engine ... the marshals won't have had time to figure out what is going on yet, and even at the best of times, once you pass one flag station it is a finite distance to the next one, and if the engine explosion happens between those flag stations and you happen to be between those flag stations behind the bike with the engine explosion, then even if the corner workers miraculously were able to put out debris flags the instant the engine explosion happens (which cannot happen in reality) you are STILL going to be riding through oil.
I've been that bike following someone who had an engine grenade. Happened at the entrance to the Carousel at Grand Bend. Fortunately, I was close enough to see the telltale signs half a second before the engine went boom, and used that half second to duck to the inside edge of the track, inside the path where the oil was going down. The rider behind me didn't see that, and went down.
The offending bike was leaking oil from crash damage from a turn 3 incident. As a matter of fact, there was a second bike leaking water as it was ridden away from the same incident, and the rider looked down numerous times as if something was amiss from the replays. Also, the bike that was leaking the oil didn't make it back around to the pits but to a marshal station 4-5 corners later, likely with some evidence of the oil leak present. They had some time, albeit not much, to identify the issue before the field came around for lap 2
IMO, there was plenty of opportunity and supporting evidence for, at the very least, a cautionary flag (maybe there was). I'm reminded of Johnny Rea breaking his leg in Germany a few years back.... maybe the marshall stands were too far away, and maybe the brand new surface made the oil more difficult to see. But these are world class events, with all the tools and training at the ready, and that didn't seem a world class job..
IMO, there was plenty of opportunity and supporting evidence for, at the very least, a cautionary flag (maybe there was). I'm reminded of Johnny Rea breaking his leg in Germany a few years back.... maybe the marshall stands were too far away, and maybe the brand new surface made the oil more difficult to see. But these are world class events, with all the tools and training at the ready, and that didn't seem a world class job..
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