Agree with everything you say, a lot of road racing courses were set out many years ago and the performance of modern bikes far, far exceeds the safety features, road surfaces etc. As you have already stated the bigger events will need to look at trying to mitigate some of the risk by taking out walls, introducing run off areas etc, the smaller events may be able to survive by making courses more technical and put in artificial chicanes to slow the riders down. I know a lot of people, competitors included dont like that but surely it's better than losing the event or another rider losing their lifeI'm putting my head over the parapet here but as a biker (and road race fan) there are 3 responses to this debate that feature on forums throughout the land and absolutely baffle me!
1. 'Hardly the time to discuss this given what has just happened'
This strikes me as sticking the head in the sand.
A person has just died. Of course it's the right time to proactively discuss what went wrong/how it could have been avoided/could it happen again/what could be done to make things safer.
Avoiding the topic does not indicate respect to the dead rider or their bereaved family.
To my mind it indicates a lack of respect for the next man to line up on the grid and his family/dependants sitting at home...
2.'They died doing what they loved' (with the conclusion therefore it's ok)
Why (and how) should doing what you love validate your death? Society would be chaos if we all just did what we wanted all the time.
Life should be lived to the full but also with an eye to responsibilities that life throws your way.
Wives, kids and families will be living for the rest of their lives with an empty chair at the table. I really doubt that knowing their husband/dad/son enjoyed racing eases their pain...
3. 'You're not a road racer therefore your opinion doesn't count'
I agree that people who are totally uninformed about the sport should not have a meaningful say about it's future.
But I also think that sometimes things can be seen from the outside looking in that have become the commonly accepted norm on the inside.
Yes, the riders know the risks, but surely those same risks are glossed over by the rewards on offer, adrenaline hits and the assumption that 'it'll never happen to me'...
My opinion is that Road Racing should not be banned but also that some dramatic changes are needed in the immediate future.
Some small national races with zero budget for course improvements or safety features need to close. Power and speed gains have made them unfeasible for modern machinery.
International races which attract massive crowds (and have huge revenue potential) need to step up and make changes. Trees/Walls/Poles/Manholes all need to be taken down at dangerous areas of the track. Run off areas need to be introduced in others (Guy Martins life almost certainly saved by this in UGP crash)
As spectators, we are a contributing factor to the sport.
The fact that we buy a programme and watch the highlights on TV all helps makes the race possible in the first place. Therefore, the drive for changes surely needs to come from us (bikers/spectators) who want to see the sport continue with fatalities decreasing...
If no changes are made, it can only be a matter of time until the powers that be enforce bans anyway.