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NW200: Rider airlifted to hospital after Superbike crash


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Posted

Shame, he seemed a nice lad too. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but they seem to abandon the NW200 when there's a fatality like this, whereas the racing at the T.T. continues regardless. Anyone got an explanation for this ?

Posted

Shame, he seemed a nice lad too. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but they seem to abandon the NW200 when there's a fatality like this, whereas the racing at the T.T. continues regardless. Anyone got an explanation for this ?

Poor fella :(.

 

Did they only have one race left after this? Maybe that's why they abandoned it.

Posted

Shame, he seemed a nice lad too. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but they seem to abandon the NW200 when there's a fatality like this, whereas the racing at the T.T. continues regardless. Anyone got an explanation for this ?

I didn't think they usually abandoned the NW after a fatality. Michael Dunlop raced and won during the same meeting that father Robert was killed. Or do you just mean for the day?

Posted

NW200: John Burrows ‘reeling’ after death of Malachi Mitchell-Thomas

 

Cookstown B.E. Racing team owner John Burrows says he has been left devastated by the death of young rider Malachi Mitchell-Thomas at the North West 200 on Saturday.


The 20-year-old died at the scene after he crashed in the Supertwins race between Dhu Varren and Black Hill – the same place where Ryan Farquhar was involved in a serious crash in Thursday’s 650cc race.
Burrows signed the young English rider for 2016 after being impressed by his victory last September in the Senior Manx Grand Prix.
The former racer turned team owner said: “The whole team has been devastated by Malachi’s death, to be honest everyone is in a state of shock. Of course, Malachi’s loss will be felt most by his family and his close friends and I’d like to offer my heartfelt condolences to his nearest and dearest.
“Malachi had only been with the team a few months but he quickly became part of the family and we will all miss him so much. He loved life and racing and the talent and enthusiasm just bubbled out of him. He was a joy to be around.
“Before he started the Supertwins race he had a massive smile on his face as he has just ridden the race of his life, finishing fourth in the Supersport race ahead of the likes of Dean Harrison, John McGuinness and James Hillier. I will never forget that smile, it’s just so cruel that we have lost him,” added Burrows.
“I’ve been asked what my racing plans are but for now my thoughts are with Malachi’s family.
“Malachi’s father Kevin wants the team to race on but I want time to consider everything and I’ll make an announcement in due course.
“In the immediate future all I’m focused on is giving my support to Malachi’s family and helping the team get through a very difficult period.”
Posted

Shame, he seemed a nice lad too. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but they seem to abandon the NW200 when there's a fatality like this, whereas the racing at the T.T. continues regardless. Anyone got an explanation for this ?

 

I think it might be because it went out live on the BBC and was therefore watched by a worldwide audience. Unlike Farquhar's crash at the same spot on Thursday, the camera stayed focussed on the crash as it unfolded. It was quite horrendous to watch, I've never seen anyone killed like that in real time before. After everyone witnessing it, it would have been crass in the extreme to have held another race. I can understand now why Mr Skelly reassured Tynwald that there would be a delay in any live transmission of the TT.

Posted

It looks like Mervyn White is starting to have doubts about it all.

 

 

 

 

North West 200 Event Director Mervyn Whyte said the tragic death of young English rider Malachi Mitchell-Thomas hit him harder than any setback he has faced in his 16-year involvement with the race.
Whyte was present at the scene of the 20-year-old’s crash on Saturday as the MCUI medical team fought in vain to save his life.
Sadly, he passed away at the scene and Whyte told the News Letter that the incident has left him pondering his own future at the helm of the famous road race.
“It’s hard to accept when this happens and I was at the scene the whole time they were treating Malachi,” he said.
“He was alive initially and the medical team worked at him for a period of 45 minutes, but unfortunately he didn’t make it and it’s a sad loss.
“It definitely hit me for six and really affected me. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a fatality at the actual circuit in my 16 years and it really hit home.
“We’ve lost a young lad in the prime of his life, who had a great future ahead of him,” said Whyte.
“I wandered up the road on my own to try and clear my mind and decide what I was going to do but it was clear that the only thing to do was to call it off.”
Whyte was faced with several serious accidents involving Ben Wilson, Ryan Farquhar and Nico Mawhinney, plus a fire on Thursday evening and a bomb scare on Saturday, which turned out to be a false alarm.
The North West has been plagued by fatal accidents, delays and stoppages in recent years and Whyte admits the event has become ‘very difficult’ to manage.
“The event has progressed massively over the past five or six years especially and it feels like a runaway train,” he said.
“There are more challenges to deal with and at some stage I’ll have to pull the plug and I don’t know what will happen then.
“The North West is different to other road races, it’s run in a highly residential area and brings in a massive amount of spectators,” added Whyte.
“That leads to other problems as we saw. It’s become very difficult.”
Whyte feels he needs additional government support to help ease the workload of running Ireland’s biggest race.
“I feel the government should be getting more involved and coming in to give us full-time support with the running of the event,” he said.
“We need a more commercial approach in the future where the event is promoted and run in similar to how other major events in the country are run.”
Posted

 

Shame, he seemed a nice lad too. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but they seem to abandon the NW200 when there's a fatality like this, whereas the racing at the T.T. continues regardless. Anyone got an explanation for this ?

 

I think it might be because it went out live on the BBC and was therefore watched by a worldwide audience. Unlike Farquhar's crash at the same spot on Thursday, the camera stayed focussed on the crash as it unfolded. It was quite horrendous to watch, I've never seen anyone killed like that in real time before. After everyone witnessing it, it would have been crass in the extreme to have held another race. I can understand now why Mr Skelly reassured Tynwald that there would be a delay in any live transmission of the TT.

 

I find it absolutely extraordinary that their coverage went out live without any delay.

 

What on earth are the people running the NW200 actually thinking?

 

I don't think road racing should be broadcast like purpose built Moto GP style circuit racing.

Posted

 

 

Shame, he seemed a nice lad too. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but they seem to abandon the NW200 when there's a fatality like this, whereas the racing at the T.T. continues regardless. Anyone got an explanation for this ?

I think it might be because it went out live on the BBC and was therefore watched by a worldwide audience. Unlike Farquhar's crash at the same spot on Thursday, the camera stayed focussed on the crash as it unfolded. It was quite horrendous to watch, I've never seen anyone killed like that in real time before. After everyone witnessing it, it would have been crass in the extreme to have held another race. I can understand now why Mr Skelly reassured Tynwald that there would be a delay in any live transmission of the TT.

 

I find it absolutely extraordinary that their coverage went out live without any delay.

 

What on earth are the people running the NW200 actually thinking?

 

I don't think road racing should be broadcast like purpose built Moto GP style circuit racing.

 

I can't quite understand it either - a huge number of live events are broadcast with a delay for profanity etc. You'd have thought it a no-brainer to do it with potentially dangerous events.

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