Opinion/Commentary
by Pete Hitzeman
for R6Live.com
It seems almost cliché to say that the motorcycle racing community is very much a family. But one has to look no further than Colin Edwards' post-race interview at Indianapolis, or the faces of the podium finishers today at Misano to know that it is completely true.
The past week has been uncharacteristically trying for those in the roadracing family. Last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 13-year-old phenomenon Peter Lenz was killed in what can only be described as a freak warm-up lap incident, just before the second USGPRU race. News of Lenz's passing reached the turn 1 grandstand, where I was sitting, just before the start of the Moto2 race via text message and mobile internet, and the mood among the gathered thousands immediately turned somber. For those of us who already knew, the excitement of the Moto2 race and even Ben Spies' masterful ride to 2nd place in the MotoGP race had a decidedly hollow feeling.
On Wednesday at the Manx GP, James Adam, a 28 year old Royal Navy officer from Prestwick, and Chris Bradshaw, a 39 year old traffic policeman from Tamworth were killed in the same accident on lap 2 of the Junior race. The race was immediately red flagged and later abandoned. Adam was declared dead at the scene. Bradshaw was airlifted to a nearby hospital, but later succumbed to his injuries.
Today, on the very day a moment of silence was observed for Lenz, 19-year-old Shoya Tomizawa crashed exiting a high-speed right hand corner on lap 12 and was struck by two other riders with nowhere to go. Tomizawa was a rising Japanese star, having won the first ever Moto2 race at Qatar. His riding style was bold and tenacious, but off the track he was known for his smiling, lighthearted demeanor. The entire Grand Prix paddock has been devastated at his passing, with many MotoGP riders declining to even comment on their races after news reached them.
