Race News from Around the World,  March 2004 c/o mcnews

 

'Ride For Life' 2004  -  presented by Honda and Roadsafe - April 3 & 4, March 4th, 2004.

Honda Motorcycles and “Roadsafe” have joined forces to present a weekend of motorcycling at the Honda Australia Rider Training (HART) complex in Tullamarine. A wide range of motorcycle activities and presentations are planned to include all of the family from the youngest to the older members Motorcyclist’s Greg Evans and Sue Stanley will officially open each day’s activities. As motorcycle riders they are both keen to encourage others to experience riding in a safe manner. Honda Motorcycles will be displaying a wide range of motorcycles, including some new models. The Honda Riders Club of Australia (HRCA). will be conducting test rides. Come and ride the latest Honda motorcycles. (Must be a currently licensed rider and supply own safety gear).  Honda cars, Marine and Power Equipment will also be on display.

For the non-motorcyclist - HART will offer free “Try It” training sessions for people wishing to try motorcycling. This is only available to persons over 18 years of age. These will be a basic 1.5 hour “learn to ride” session, and will be operating both days. HART will conduct 4 of these sessions per day, with up to 12 participants in each course. People wishing to participate will need to phone 03 9335 2766 to book a session.

Other Displays - Displays on the day will include both the Honda Road Racing team, and on the Sunday the Honda Off-Road Race Team. The Victoria Police Road Safety Caravan and a number of Motorcycle sporting clubs, ranging from Junior to Racing will be on display.

Show and Shine - this will be a popular part of the overall event with entries accepted on the day.

Victorian Road Racing identity Bob Martin loses battle with MND, March 8th, 2004

We are very sad to report that Bob Martin passed away late on Sunday night after his long battle with Motor Neurone Disease. Bob has been an extremely important and highly valued member of the Victorian racing community for longer than some racers have been alive. There is hardly an Australian racer currently competing that has not had his machine carted back to the pits by Bob or one of his crew over the years. Our best wishes to his family and friends.

 

'Bikers' fault in most crashes', March 23rd, 2004, an editorial from Motorcyle News Web site.

Recently 'The Age' newspaper published a piece sensationally headlined 'Bikers' fault in most crashes'.  Motorcyclists were at fault in three-quarters of fatal or near-fatal crashes involving them, according to a detailed Victoria Police road crash investigation from May 2002 to April 2003. Excessive speed and alcohol and drug consumption were found to be key elements in causing serious motorcycle crashes. But the study, to be released today, also found left-hand bends with a downhill slope particularly lethal for riders. Unlicensed riders accounted for one in five motorcycle deaths. Learner and probationary riders were involved in a fifth of crashes. Almost half the crashes were at weekends.

 

The major collision investigation group analysed 47 fatal or near-fatal motorcycle crashes amid criticism from motorcycle groups that police investigations were biased against riders. Thirty-nine crashes resulted in deaths and eight resulted in life-threatening injuries. Eleven riders found to be not at fault were killed in collisions with other vehicles, usually when the vehicle failed to give way or suddenly turned in front of the bike. Ten of those riders were not speeding and had no alcohol or drugs in their systems. The study raises the possibility of more interceptions and drug testing of riders in the early morning. This follows the finding that riders injured in all collisions between midnight and 6am tested positive for alcohol or drugs.

 

The major collision group normally investigates crashes involving three or more fatalities, hit-and-run collisions or crashes where there is evidence of criminal negligence. But because of queries over police methods, the group examined all fatal or near-fatal motorcycle crashes between May 2002 and April 2003. The study concluded that motorcyclists were at fault in 77 per cent of those crashes, although in crashes involving other vehicles motorcyclists were at fault 64 per cent of the time. Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Bob Hastings said the study was not intended to "belt people around the head - it's about setting a base line and looking into causal factors as to why these things occur.” The study, the first of its type in Australia, suggests that improved road signs could improve motorcycle safety. Inspector Geoff Alway, from the major collision investigation group, said the findings would not necessarily hold true for less serious accidents. "With the 'at fault' we are talking about the major causative factor, but there's always more than one factor in accidents," Mr Alway said. He said bike crashes were far more frequent on left-hand bends than on right-hand ones. On average, riders who crashed in left-hand turns were going 23 km/h faster than those who crashed on right-hand bends. Of the crashes studied, 63 per cent involved collisions with another vehicle. The report noted that "those riders who exceeded designated speed limits tended to be younger. Riders with alcohol detected in their blood were also on average younger.” Mr Alway said the motorcyclists not at fault had all been injured in the metropolitan area. The bikes were evenly divided between small, medium and large engine capacities.

 

Is this report released now by the Victorian Police Media Unit for the purposes of an upcoming offensive targeting motorcyclists?  The more suspicious amongst our ranks would suggest that the timing of the release seems to be strategically staged in the run up to a major motorcycle event.  The World Superbike Championship visits Phillip Island this coming weekend and the normal huge volume of motorcycle traffic this event brings with it from all states, could be seen as a perfect target for a healthy dose of revenue raising in some form or another.

 

Honda Australia Rider Training Manager, Frank Allan, has penned this enlightening analysis of the flawed research used for this article. The comments below are related to a report from the Vic Police major collision investigation unit into fatal and serious injury motorcycle collisions that occurred between May 2002 and April 2003.


”The timing of the release of this report is interesting, almost a year after the end of the report period and days before a major motorcycle event in Victoria. The number of incidents investigated was 47, a comparatively small number. A number of the summarised points have been seized upon by the media for attention. In isolation these points seems to be controversial. When placed in comparison to the figures for all vehicles, actually highlight that motorcycle riders are more responsible than the average road user.


A figure of 77% of riders were assessed as being at fault for the collision. It is rare to find a study into road accidents that attribute a causal factor (fault). One that I am aware of, from West Australia (see attached) shows a 94% human causal factor. Alcohol was shown to in the riders system in 19% per cent of these cases, of which 13% of the total riders had a BAC of over 0.05. This should be compared to the figures from the TAC for all Victorian road fatalities in 2002 which shows that 32% of all drivers/riders had a BAC exceeding 0.05.


One area of this report that should be investigated further is the claim that 38% of the riders were exceeding the speed limit. The report contains no detail as to how the speed of the rider prior to the collision has been determined. For vehicle crashes, the damage to the vehicle is often used to determine the speed at the time of impact. A large database exists from places such as MUARC etc. of the physical damage that will be sustained by various makes/models of cars at particular speeds, for particular types of impacts. Unfortunately this type of data does not exist for motorcycles. Possibly the speed prediction has come from the measurement of marks left at the scene. eg. skidmarks. If this is the case, then from which tyre did the skid mark come? Front or rear, or both. Was the tyre correctly inflated? What was the coefficient of friction for the road surface at the time? The inclination of the roadway? Without information regarding how the police have determined the speed of the riders, the prediction of 38% of riders exceeding the speed limit can only remain open to question. It would be of more use if this report included comparison figures for all road users.”

 

World Superbike 2004 - Round 2 - Phillip Island - Race 1, March 28th, 2004.

Laconi the clear winner by over 7 seconds while Vermeulen got second while the drag race for third was won by Toseland by a nose over Martin with McCoy a fraction behind in fifth.

 

World Superbike 2004 - Round 2 - Phillip Island - Race 2, March 28th, 2004

McCoy the winner, Vermeulen second, Chili third, Borciani fourth, Corser fifth, Haga sixth 

 

Race 1 Results

Race 2 Results

Championship Points

Manufacturer Points
  1. Laconi
  2. Vermeulen
  3. Toseland
  4. Martin
  5. McCoy
  6. Sanchini
  7. Borciani
  8. Haga
  9. Chili
  10. Walker
  11. Clementi
  12. Nannelli
  13. Corser
  14. Velini
  15. Nowland
  16. Praia
  1. McCoy
  2. Vermeulen 4.9 secs
  3. Chili 6.4 secs
  4. Borciani 8.8 secs
  5. Corser 11.8 secs
  6. Haga
  7. Sanchini
  8. Walker
  9. Clementi
  10. Haslam
  11. Bontempi
  12. Nannelli
  1. Toseland 61
  2. Chili 56
  3. McCoy 55
  4. Vermeulen 55
  5. Haga 43
  6. Borciani 43
  7. Walker 39
  8. Martin 29
  9. Sanchini 27
  10. Laconi 25
  11. Haslam 24
  12. Corser 19
  1. Ducati 100
  2. Honda 55
  3. Petronas 42
  4. Kawasaki 27
  5. Suzuki 18
  6. Yamaha 13

 

 

World Supersport 2004 - Round 2 - Phillip Island - Race Report, March 28th, 2004

Last lap Brookes challenging Curtain everywhere, gets him at MG Hairpin, run to the line, who will it be, Brookes, he has got it, or has he, slipstream by Curtain but no the timers say Brookes has it by 0.02 of a second, what a race.  Van Der Goorbergh third, Parkes fourth, Charpentier fifth, Foret sixth.

 

Compiled by Peter Weyermayr