Years ago I had just finished building my R1 trackbike. I took it to Donington the next evening when they used to run tracknights every Wednesday. Some bloke on an old Kawasaki dropped oil all around the track and 7 of us crashed on it. I crashed at the old hairpin quickly followed by 2 others. I remember sliding down the track on my back looking at my bike sliding and thinking that won't be too bad. The next second it hit the grass and cartwheeled into the air and disintegrated on landing. I had to buy a new frame, bodywork, forks etc but I just had to suck it up and remember I'd have a story to tell in later life.
Yep, crap happens .... and sucking it up is part of the process, and its all part of the rich fabric of life ...
The threads not really what I started it for, perhaps we should rename it, but it’s totally accepted that liability is a non existent concept, and tbh I’d probably rather it stayed that way, because honestly the grey area around it is huge. I watched a video of a vlogger who basically passed on his rsv4 a 600 then he pulled in to the racing line and braked way before the 600 guy was going to (as is so often the case when not fast people buy litre bikes then brake earlier and earlier). The 600 ran into the back of him and crashed. If you were looking at it from an insurance perspective you’d have to say that the 600 rider is at fault, but applying pragmatic assessment to it and considering things like what was reasonable behaviour such as moving across in a braking zone etc wouldn’t have been perhaps so simple, resulting in weird insurance outcomes
Just read on another forum about possible fatality at a Brands Hatch trackday today. If turns out to be the case it is just all so sad whatever the circumstances.
Yes it's not that slow, not that much of hairpin really is it? Maybe a better topic on the other Donnington thread. Feel free to fill in the gaps.
maybe should have made clear that this was not intended to be a stat but could be relevant to the question of track insurance,regarding claims, which was the subject of original post.
This is what someone paid (recently) for a bike TD. I know it's not a 20k+ policy but an idea. This is possibly the balance they have outstanding on the bike. I personally would not take out insurance but they were apprehensive not having it. Car (racing) I know guys were paying £5k+ for about 10 rounds. With about £5k excess. 28K-ish capped payout. Engine failure not covered. A minor shunt not worth a claim. Competition risk being higher. I never had insurance as I owned my race cars, just worked on the basis If I wrote off a chassis it's just bad luck. A corner could exceed that excess with a wheel or wing and chassis damage but most just paid as and when. A few drivers have paid for shunts they caused damage to others. Shit happens.. paying for 3 cars would not be something I'd enjoy even if the right thing to do. Someone paid for damage to me. Someone else did not.
There seems a lot of concern about insurance covering bike damage but nothing about personal injury/death. As a regular spectator at road racing in NI and Iom they are beginning to suffer from insurance costs for third party injury. I know trackdays may make you sign away your rights to life but I expect your parents may start looking at Human Rights legislation as to Rights to Life. Just saying, but I’m sure some parents will.
Here's a thought. I've NEVER paid for track day insurance. Had I put the insurance premium money aside for each track day I've done, I'd have a tidy sum. Like brand new V4 SP tidy sum. Yes, I've had a few offs. But never a catastrophic end over end culminating in a spectacular fireball type crash. This is the type of crash insurance is for. And tbh, these type of crashes are rare for track day geezers like us.
Not really any different if you stuff a pcp bike or one you own outright. You’re still paying for it/repairing it huh
Maybe , but if you own it that usually means you have paid for it ,so if you bin it and don't have the money to fix it you can stick it in the garage and forget about it ,not under pcp you can't ,no more handing it back and walking away .Just one more track day on your v4s before you hand it back ,you suddenly owe the £9000 final valuation fee and all you got is a fucked bike ,Imo a big difference .
I've never been lured by pcp. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, in fact in a lot of cases it seems great! My brother knocks about in a bang tidy Audi A4 on a pcp deal and when he told me the repayments (can't remember exactly) I was impressed! So what's the score? Do you have to hand it back in split mint condition to proceed with walk away/upgrade/final bubble/whatever??
That's the bottom line... Which leads to my dilemma. I've pumped $$$$ into my V4S and although it wouldn't wipe me out financially, it would upset me hugely watching it burn.... But I think we all have to swing a leg over it and go and enjoy. If we went through life thinking 'what if' we'd never leave the house
