2011 World Mini Grand Prix Safety Report Wrap Up
First and foremost we cannot stress enough the importance of everyone being on the “same page” when it comes to safety. It’s crucial for track promoters, racers and parents to all follow the stated rules for racing. If, in the rulebook it states what flags will be displayed at your race then the flags that were stated should be used. In the case of the white flag with red cross, which is in the NMA rule book and was stated to be present at the 40th annual world Mini’s but when we asked where the flags were, we were told by the NMA that they simply “don’t work”. On numerous occasions, the white flag with red cross could have easily served its purpose. In the NMA rulebook the white flag with Red Cross is supposed to be represented when “Ambulance on Track and/or First Aid is requested”.
Just because we haven’t been in the industry as long as some or don't have the most "experience", we can without a doubt see when rider’s safety is not top priority. It’s the track promoter’s responsibility to have the necessary track and safety personnel on site for any and all high volume event at the minimum! There are so many families in the sport that this is all they have, the riders are home schooled just to make it to every race and they pay for a race setting that should have the highest attention to their safety, it’s only fair to them. These young riders are the future of our sport and if you expect them to continue going to each event they have to stay healthy and safe. By having the proper track and safety crew, you can dramatically reduce rider injuries and heighten safety all together. With medical personnel present but not very mobile in with the ambulances throughout the track, there were delays to downed riders and on some occasions injured riders walked back due to delayed medics. We at the BSDF feel for a large race it’s important to have a mobile medical team readily available to swiftly give aid to riders. Also with the use of the white flag with red cross, the medics can easily see when they are needed to a site and when they do arrive there, it’s clear to the riders that it’s not just a stalled bike on the track or some thing minor. But, it’s something more serious and they should proceed with extreme caution.
Also on numerous cases, races were started before the track was completely cleared from riders and or ambulances. It’s important the track is cleared before the start of the next moto. It’s pretty obvious why this would be important, but instead of taking the extra second to wait for the track to clear from injured riders or the medics races were started only missing them by a few seconds, or on one occasion a rider was actually stuck on the infield during the entire moto after his, because it was all about pushing as many motos in as they can in a day.
Track fatigue was something that was overlooked at times with minimal time taken to do track prep. During the day you minimize the possibilities of continued crashes. The harder you push the motos through out the day, the faster the riders and the track becomes fatigued. Taking necessary track maintenance breaks also allows the riders to rest and rehydrate. Although it’s exciting to watch 40 plus motos a day, it can become unsafe very fast. With many racers having 7-8 motos in one day, those 20-30min breaks a couple of times a day provide them with somewhat of a groomed track is another thing the racers deserve for paying top dollar to race at an event.
The flaggers are the most over looked asset at a race. Flaggers are out there for the entire day ensuring, at the best of their abilities, rider safety. Without flaggers, rider injury at races would dramatically increase so it’s important to ensure you have enough flaggers present and if not take the necessary steps to get them there. It’s so easy to put flaggers on the back burner until something happens. The flaggers are the ones who sacrifice sometimes getting hit; they’re not in their campers all day or even in the shade. So I hope many realize the importance of the flaggers and also to have the ability to take them water and relieve them. As I said, the flaggers do there best to protect the injured or downed rider but it also takes the racers to follow the rules of the flags. Too many times were there a caution flag displayed, yet riders still raced by, just as if you were down and hope that the racers behind you slow down, you should do the same for your fellow racers.
It will take effort from every one to educate themselves so that the sport of motocross as a whole can become safer. We need to take the time to set a standard at these national races for safety. With making safety a top priority at larger races, we can begin to set expectations of what should be and needs to be at each race. If track owners or promoters don’t take the time to ensure every and all riders are safe, then why should racers take their money and time to that event. Once again our goal of the Brett Downey Safety Foundation is to supplement the motocross community by increasing safety awareness of riders, parents, track owners and promoters to make the sport of motocross as safe as possible, minimizing injuries and helping to preserve all motocross tracks. We can only reach this goal if we all work together, from the riders to track owners and promoters.
This is Ricky Rickords with the Brett Downey Safety Foundation helping build safety awareness!
For more information on supporting the Brett Downey Safety Foundation programs, please feel free to visit our website, www.mxsafety38.org, or give us a call at 951-824-9494. You can also find us on Facebook.
About the Brett Downey Safety Foundation:
Established in 2004, The Brett Downey Safety Foundation is a non-profit organization lead by a volunteer staff. Its mission is to supplement the motocross community by increasing safety awareness of riders, parents, track owners and promoters to help make the sport of motocross as safe as possible by minimizing injuries and helping to preserve all motocross tracks.
