The death of Marco Simoncelli, aside from touching thousands of people, has also brought about some important reflection about the sport. Giacomo Agostini has commented on the ever increasing performance of modern MotoGP tires, adding that this often comes at the request of the riders themselves. Randy Mamola suggested a limit on electronics, which at times might be helpful, but can also lead the bikes to behave in unnatural ways.
The most controversial statements, however, have come from Chicho Lorenzo, father of 2010 world champion Jorge. In a recent radio interview, the Spaniard accused Simoncelli of being mentally unprepared for racing, adding that this type of incident was more likely to happen to "Sic" than anyone else. Naturally he received heavy criticism for these remarks, included a statement from Jorge on Twitter, in which he claimed to be ashamed of his father's words.
In response to this harsh reception, Chicho Lorenzo has published a long and controversial letter – excerpts of which are below – to clarify his opinions and offer some further thoughts on motorcycling in general.
AN AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY – "The death of Marco Simoncelli should have never happened. Just like the death of any athlete practicing their sport, or the numerous premature deaths that happen every day, and which we brand unjust. But I don't think the right precautions have been taken for too long, and they relied to heavily on luck. The evidence tells us that an incident like this was bound to happen sooner or later.
A LACK OF PREPARATION – "The most serious incidents are often the result of a combination of factors, which might not be dangerous if encountered individually. You can't eliminate all of these factors, because some are inherent in motorcycle racing, but you can always reduce the number to a minimum. This would help to cut the number of fatal incidents. The first of these factors is a lack of preparation or training for the riders, starting from the moment they are allowed buy a racing license with a photocopy of a document and two pictures. If we exclude crashes caused by mechanical problems, or liquids and objects on the track (like in the case of Marc Marquez), we see that the rest are caused by rider errors, poor decisions, and lack of control. All of which can be reduced with the right preparation, which currently doesn't exist and isn't necessary to become a racer. We need to create filters that will only allow the most prepared riders to pass, penalizing crashes and especially dangerous riding."
HARSHER PENALTIES – "A race disqualification is very hard on some riders, and it's a good method for persuading them to stop crashing, or stop making others crash. I know this because of experience. During Jorge's career, the penalty he received in Japan, in 2005, completely changed his mentality. An alarm (for Simoncelli, ed.) should have sounded at the first symptoms of trouble, but instead these actions were repeated and became ever more evident, without anyone taking action. Only one rider (Jorge Lorenzo, ed.) complained about his high number of mistakes and frequent contact with others, and he was nearly crucified for this."
ILLOGICAL AND EXCESSIVE EVOLUTION – "The speed and weight of the bikes has increased progressively, but some circuits were designed 30 or 40 years ago, while many of the more modern ones were conceived for Formula 1. They must design circuits which put more emphasis on riding technique, reduce the displacement of the engines, and cut the weight of the bikes as much as possible. They are also lacking an association which defends the interests and rights of the riders, especially their safety."
* By publishing this letter, GPone.com does not wish to support it's statements or opinions in any way whatsoever. The fact that Jorge Lorenzo has publicly criticized his own father leaves little doubt about the perspective of a person that, despite some experience in racing, has stopped attending MotoGP events for quite some time. Some important questions remain regarding safety improvements, and minimizing the risks in this wonderful sport that, as Nicky Hayden pointed out, can unfortunately be extremely cruel sometimes.
source: GP One
