For the second week in a row this column features a story not directly linked to Formula One.
The tragic death of Marco Simoncelli has reverberated throughout the motorsport community as a whole not only because the 24-year-old Italian was such a charismatic star of Moto GP but because, coming so soon after the loss of Dan Wheldon, the issue of safety is brought once again into sharp focus for anyone involved in motorsport.
YouTube is a wonderful website and an excellent resource for anyone eager to find out just what Homer said to Marge in the third episode of the second episode of The Simpsons or whatever, but there are some things for which the website is merely a magnet for the voyeur.
Motorsport fatalities is one, and I have to say I haven’t enjoyed the last week poring over the footage lovingly uploaded by ‘concerned’ fans the world over. Not having seen either event live, I felt it incumbent to get a perspective on Wheldon and Simoncelli’s tragic final moments via the internet but it certainly wasn’t fun.
At least in Wheldon’s case it was difficult to get an idea of what actually was going on in that 15-car horror smash. Simoncelli’s accident did not bear a repeat viewing. It’s fair to say, as Simoncelli’s manager Franco Uncini has, that he never really had a chance as the combination of circumstances feared by any bike rider knitted together with depressingly inevitable consequences.
Uncini should know, having spent time in a coma following a similar accident in the 1983 Dutch TT at Assen when he was hit by Wayne Gardner’s bike having just fallen from his own. It really is hard to budget for.
No doubt there will be all sorts of calls for an end to motorcycle racing in the wake of the Simoncelli tragedy but, compared with road racing, Moto GP has a reasonable record on fatalities.
Simoncelli is the first rider to die at the top level since Dajiro Kato at the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Before that the last death was Michel Frutschi in the 500cc French Grand Prix in 1983. Serious injuries are commonplace but fatalities mercifully few.
I had the great pleasure to visit World Superbike star Jonathan Rea at his home on the Isle of Man recently and in the course of our conversation he relayed with passionate emphasis, the list of significant safety improvements that have been made in recent years.
While tracks have certainly upped their game in terms of the placing of barriers, kerbs and the training levels of rescue teams, he pointed out that the real gains have been made in rider equipment.
The extensive body armour worn in conjunction with greatly improved leathers can’t prevent broken bones and torn ligaments but has certainly made a major contribution to keeping riders alive.
Sadly, for Marco Simoncelli’s family, it wasn’t enough to stop him from being taken away from them at such a young age but surely his death will lead to renewed research into rider equipment.
As former FIA President Max Mosley said last week, it’s important to view these accidents with a clear, objective view and approach the investigation with a scientific, analytical mind. Only then can real progress be made and proper value attained from an otherwise tragic event.