Because we feel the need, the need for speed!

” Men and women alike were awe-struck, indulging in a silent prayer within their hearts, every time they saw those lean men on their mean-machines, shift their rears on the seat while taking their babies for a bender at the dangerous but inviting curves, their knee kissing the tarmac with every slight difference in the angles”- is definitely not an excerpt from some fictional piece of writing, but a normal description of the emotions on an enthusiastic Moto GP spectator’s face, on any given race day.

Be it the GP venue or the comfort of their homes from where they indulge in watching the gripping action, this is one emotion which is common to all hardcore Moto GP fans. The combined emotion of fear, thrill, apprehension, cheer and adrenalin rush which more often than not sends a chill down the spine. It’s a sport that still continues to fascinate everyone, from a school boy to an adult. It brings out the boyish fascination for danger and bravado in grown men, while it enthralls small boys who want to grow up in a hurry and rest their behinds on the seat and tame one of these beasts. It’s a world of ” Speed thrills but sometimes kills”. Welcome to the world of Moto GP, a stage for the courageous and the skilled.

Although the ‘danger to life’ factor exists in all types of motor sports, bike racers somehow seem to be more vulnerable than their counterparts in other motor sports. The speeds at which the 990cc engines operate makes the sport even more dangerous, especially because Moto GP bikers, unlike the F1 or the other four-wheel racers, do not enjoy the luxury of a second line of protection. One wrong move (as in all cases) and the rider can find himself stranded like a ‘sitting-duck’ on the tarmac, waiting to be taken down by one of the other screamers.

Indeed it’s one of those rare sports where the spectator and the performer both need to be brave-hearts. We have all heard of nail-biting finishes, but with Moto GP , the nail-biting starts right-away, seeing the nervous smiles on the bikers’ faces at the grid, even before the race starts.