Death in the Family

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.


Fatalities in motorcycle racing have become mercifully rare over time. Tracks are safer, protective equipment has made quantum leaps, and the motorcycles themselves are less dangerous in many ways. But weeks like this remind all of us how dangerous the sport we love can be. There is no air fence or back protector for bad luck. And when bad luck happens at high speed on two wheels, the worst can, and occasionally does, happen.

This element of danger is a part of why we love the sport the way we do. We idolize the riders, whether favorites or not, because of the bravery it takes to do what they do, and the skill required to do it so well. Anyone who has ridden a motorcycle knows the sort of risks involved, but we choose to do it anyway. We choose to ride and race not because we are blind to the danger, but because we understand that for those of us with this sort of passion, to live a life devoid of risk is to not live at all.

There is an ancient Italian proverb which says "It is better to live one day as a lion than a thousand years as a lamb." Lenz, Bradshaw, Adam and Tomizawa all chose to be lions. And while we will mourn their loss deeply, we, the fellow riders, racers, fans, journalists, photographers and track personnel consider ourselves honored to have known them, and more honored still to be counted among them.

Goodbye and Godspeed, brothers. We will never forget you.