A Risk, Reward and Reminder
- Sienna Wedes
- Nov 7, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 4, 2022
The toughest moments in life can serve as the greatest of reminders and last weekend at the Sepang GP that bell was ringing loudly. Motorsport athletes crave victory and the glory that coincides with crossing the chequered flag first. It is what drives them and makes them occasionally blind to the dangers of an activity they associate with enjoyment and adrenalin. They rarely open up about their mental struggles or serious aches and pains because their nature is not driven by praise for their bodily strength. No matter how stout their facade appears, looming closely is that continual air of risk that we innocently forget but they carefully tuck away in the back of their mind.
As humans have the tendency to forget. Not always on purpose or with malicious intent but because we get wrapped up in the beauty of things and channel all of our energy into what we think will make us thrive. We, however are not privy to the post race physiotherapy appointments or behind the scenes feed that shows how these riders are really feeling. Especially after a fall, injury or a loss. Joan Mir for example only revealed that he is still having issues breathing after he competed at the Sepang GP, from his Brno test crash. Supporters only see one side of the show and that can make us a little detached from the more serious side of the sport. These athletes bounce back in incredible fashion and majority of the time they are ok, but this is not always the case. There are specific elements of safety like their leathers with airbag technology, their boots and gloves and helmets but down to the very core, this sport is dangerous and sadly even with all this technology and support, that doesn’t mean risks are always avoided. So, just some food for thought, when was the last time you thought about that? We mightn’t get the championships we desire or the rowdy races we crave all the time but we do get to see the best athletes competing on the world stage and in perspective, this is enough.
The Sepang GP marked the final round of flyaways but on Saturday afternoon during the Air Asia Talent Cup race we unfortunately lost an up-and-coming talent Afridza Munandar. He had taken two wins, two second places and two third places in the 2019 season and respectfully achieved third place in the championship. No one had thought that after the race had been red flagged that we would be saying goodbye to yet another young talent. It is not overly common and we are thankful for that but it is also naive for us to think that these dangers aren’t present in the motorsport sphere.
On Sunday we spoke with a local security guard who was standing in the paddock quietly. Once we got talking he put a lot of focus on the several crows that were low and swooping around the paddock area. “In Chinese culture these crows represent negativity and are symbols of demise” He was adamant that the events of Saturday were cast over the day ahead and “a warning of how serious that situation was”. During both the Moto3 and the Moto2 races, nine crashes occurred in each category. Bodies were sent flying, like Alonso López in Moto3 who landed onto his head and bikes were screeching into the heat haze. With each crash a little bit of worry pours out, especially after Saturdays event.
Post race, Jaume Masia, Sergio Garcia, Alex and Marc Marquez were among riders in all three classes who dedicated their races and victories to “the one that we lost, Afridza Munandar”. It is an awfully eerie feeling to be celebrating one thing and commemorating the loss of another. But in this moment of sadness, it was incredible to see an entire community and 100,000 plus spectators come together and support each other. Riders shook the hands of fellow Asia Talent Cup rookie riders and Carmelo Ezpeleta followed. Events like loosing Munandar, casts a dark shadow over a day that is also trying to be full of sunshine. Marc Marquez went out of his way during Sundays press conference to address the loss of Munandar and how risks and rewards go hand-in-hand to serve as reminders “We can’t forget that today is an emotional day because yesterday we had bad news about Munandar. He was a young talented rider from Indonesia. We can’t forget that every body here knows and realises the risk we have out on track but we take that risk to arrive in that sweet moment. To achieve our goals and then when we reach our goals we need to enjoy it. Today we are enjoying for him because he was looking for this moment. He was pushing and riding for his passion and he will always be one of the most special riders of the GP”.
Every rider will acknowledge the perils involved in their job but if they constantly revolved their world around it, they probably wouldn’t get on their bike or enjoy it half as much as they do. They gamble big to gain even more but it is equally important to use that success as a reminder of their mortality. There is twisted beauty in believing that these guys put their bodies on the line for their craft. Not because we or their teams ask them to but because the fire burning inside of them wants them to. However, it is still our duty as spectators and fans not to get lost in this spectacle and to remind each other of the dangers associated with this kind of sport. We want longevity for these remarkable men and women because just as much as they love to race, we love to watch.
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