danger is never as far from us as we'd like to think.

Guess he wasn't that highly talented after all.....

Peff...NOT even remotely funny! >
Try using that type of rationale on the Shuttle crew and see how entertaining people think you are!
Jafo, word is (via the industry insiders) the thing nipped up .... and in a 240K sweeper not much could be done.
Come to think of it, there must be more than a few circuits that need looking at, Bazz would have been the first to agree.
But then again, racers being racers ... the IoM TT is a good example!
Kato .... a good bloke!

Jafo..Yes...but it would probably get me exiled....

Seriously, I have little pathos for people who kill themselves needlessly. What's the point of going ridiculous speeds? I realize that racing can be a lucrative profession, but I believe people with family responsibilites can find better ways of supporting their families. It just seems incredibly selfish to me to take these risks with a family to consider. I do feel sorry for his wife and children.

Wombat...how dare you compare the shuttle crew (who are advancing science for the benefit of mankind) to a motor bike racer who does it for god only knows what reason!! > Your last comment causes me to think that you might be suffering from a bad case of cranial rectumitis.

I am also very insulted by your comments Peff, I am surprised at you.

Apology accepted.

Just remember, however, World famous NASA crew, or World famous MotoGP rider....they are equally deceased and their memory and those who survive them deserve respect.

WEll put wombat_1. Not only was he a sports figure, he was a father and a husband. That in itself is a tragedy, even if you get passed the sports part. I know zero about bike races, but can see the personal impact.

A.E. Houseman said it well, too, I think: http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/jtap/tutorials/intro/owen/athlete.html

i apologize for venting a little off topic in my previous. i had enduring relationships with two people whose life energy was funneled into "having a name", and who happened to care nothing about family, friends, society, love, or any of the various things that make the world a better place to live. the raw nerve which the quote struck is mine, and i should have kept it that way.

Peff, you have obviously not ever raced anything at high speeds

Coming from a family that drag races, I can say "the need to speed is in their blood". It's what they do. To them it is as part of life as getting out of bed in the morning.

My husband drag races (as have I, and I assume my daughter will). I am much more confident that my husband would be killed on his way to work in his street car than he ever will on the track. Freak accidents happen everywhere. Just because he died doing something he loved makes it no less of a loss to his family and friends.