...Is Racing Cruel...?

[Dark Angel]

Why does it always seem to happen to the nice guy?

Tom Sykes looked as if he was in with a great chance of a double win at Portimao ? then the Kwak blows its stack in race two.

Meanwhile, on the way to the starting grid in Assen, Tommy Hill takes a trip over the nose of his bike when he?s stopped in his tracks by a wayward mechanic ? and misses the race altogether.

Remember this...?

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Makes me think that racing really can be very cruel indeed.

 

[jono49]

@tu* Thanks for that Eric!.....Poor old Stalker sh1tehppns

 

[Bodge]

I remember that season, was gutted for Chris I thought it would be his time.

 

[Dark Angel]

It was fantastic to see him win at Oulton, last May.

There wasn?t a dry eye in the house. :-:​

 

[Oldbull]

We were watching at redgate when he started blubbing. We all had a tear for him that day.
Fantastic season's racing that year.. nice find pal@tu*

Bet you cant guess who inspired me with a new paint job on my TL :-0)

 

[Dark Angel]

We were watching at redgate when he started blubbing. We all had a tear for him that day. Fantastic season's racing that year.. nice find pal

Bet you cant guess who inspired me with a new paint job on my TL

...Lovely :bow: - doesn't look as if it gets used enough, though!

how about the rear wheel exploding, that's crueller.

That was the unfortunate Victor Cox - he escaped unhurt, thankfully - but there wasn't a national championship at stake, was there? Stalker never won the BSB title and was runner-up four times!

That's really cruel, I reckon. :-:

 

[Dark Angel]

Shows he wasn't QUITE good enough.

..Now, THAT is cruel. :t

...He only had to finish in the top four to win the championship. :-:

...He was good enough to do it - but the bike failed. :cry:

...Now, that's REALLY cruel! :bang:

 

[Wolfie]

Hizzys is the one that means most now though, now THAT is cruel.

but that was not racing being cruel.

 

[Dark Angel]

the championship is usually won over the SEASON, but THIS season came down to just one race. To finish first, first you have to finish. Walker was good enough, but the bike wasn't. The eventual victor in the race was James Haydon who, unfortunately, never won a BSB Championship either.

... :-0) ...

 

[Dark Angel]

Shakey?s won it twice and may well win another before too long. He always seems to bounce back from adversity and that seems to be his great strength. The added combination of his undoubted ability to cope well with injuries; his racing prowess ? he?s a real ?thinking? racer; and his cheerful nature gives him all the ingredients he needs to be a consistent winner.

It?s ironic that both Stalker and Hopper have had their problems on and off the track and both fell short when on the brink of winning a BSB championship title in different eras: but cruellest of all is the coincidence that both were denied, not by any lack of ability, but by the failure of their Suzuki machinery.

...Really, really cruel... fl4g71

 

[Dark Angel]

... Really, really, really cruel...!! 8rfl@​

 

[Dark Angel]

...Really, really, really cruel...! :xm


...Shudda thrown a bucket of cold water over 'em... :-0)

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[Dark Angel]

Half a point!

Mechanical failure.

Tyre-wear.

Badovini.

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And if only he?d finished second in race one, instead of third!

BUGGER?!! So cruel...!! :bang:​

 

[Dark Angel]

SPOILER... if you've not watched BSB

























Leading the championship by 8.5 points, Glen Richards misses a gear and runs off-track...

...after narrowly avoiding the rear wheel of his nearest rival, Jack Kennedy.

He can?t keep his bike upright in the gravel, so is prevented from rejoining the race.

To secure the Championship, Kennedy must finish the race in seventh place.


He?s fifth ? and there?s no-one close behind.


Richards heads back to the pits on the back of a marshal?s scooter, knowing he?s lost his dream.


It?s over.

Less than five minutes after Richards? catastrophe, Kennedy?s Yamaha drops a valve.

The Richards camp celebrates.


They?ve won.

Richards is relieved ? he?s won?

...and Kennedy has lost.


...He is consoled?


...But consolation doesn't ease the pain.

...It was a silly question, really.


Racing IS cruel.​

 

[Dark Angel]

BSB 2011 - Brands Hatch - The Season's Finale


John Hopkins' bike breaks down on the first lap of race two.


He gets it re-started and battles through the pack to finish twelfth.

The reward for his efforts?



He is still ahead of Tommy Hill, going into the last race of the season.



Hill beats him to the line by 0.006 seconds to win the Championship.

Cruel..
​