| Having spent the whole season so far since the 1st test at Snett in March with Rizla Suzuki, I'm beginning to know how they 'click' so to speak.
Knowing what they and the other teams have to contend with over a race weekend and the run-up to it, I do not feel it is fully their responsibility to 'watch over' their bikes or equipment.
What these folks (i.e. the whole BSB paddock) bring to the sport week in and week out surely warrants at least a half-decent security setup if not a ****-hot dogs dangly one. The teams have to operate in the conditions they are presented with.....that goes for weather, track surface, paddock, series politics/regulations, rider condition/sharpness etc and also the garages. Yeah they have to show some regard for their gear but not in the same example as us…..members of Joe Public do.
Except for Thruxton which was a tent !!!!!! with some rope and a cr@p metal bar to secure it with, all the rounds have shutter doors which lock with at least one key. I've been told some of the garages breached at Croft had evidence of being 'jemmied' whilst others didn't. Knowing club racers who've had bikes and gear nicked at Croft in the past illustrates that this circuit is not the most impenetrable for scum-bag thieves. I'm not going to speculate that perhaps this was an inside job (i.e. the security know the garages, have mates and turn a blind-eye etc whilst they spend a considerable amount of time helping themselves to what is cumbersome and difficult kit to move), BUT...this aspect definitely needs to be included in any investigations by the Police, the MCRCB and Croft Promotions Limited. One thing is for sure, what they have at present is not adequate and is definitely not befitting of a World renowned National championship revolving around millions of pounds of cash injection.
I have been in the Rizla garage at 10pm on a Friday or Saturday night watching them strip engines and bikes. It’s a tough job with many of them having only a day’s leave out of every 40-50 or so.
I've walked the paddock at other rounds at 1am in the morning and seen security men walking around in pairs with walkie-talkies patrolling the trucks, garages and general area. Rumour has it this level of diligence was distinctly lacking at Croft and surely will cost them dearly in withholding a good reputation within the MCRCB. This is sad cos the circuit has obviously proven that it is a favourite with both the fans and riders (twas the highest attended round in 2004, its first year with the series). Goes to show though, your reputation and standing can only go as far as your weakest part or area.
The real sad part is that the team may now be forced to run just the one rider for the remainder of the season. This has huge implications for the sport from both the fans standpoint and the reputation of the BSB series as a whole. It reaches way beyond ‘theft’ and a crime number.
I’m saddened that low-life’s such as this can do such a thing and also that I wasn’t in my normal sleeping place of the Rizla team truck when this event was unfolding. I’d love to have seen 10 raging extremely protective & passionate team members with their ‘rival’ teams in tow descend onto the paddock in the middle of the night to confront these scuzzers. Would have been the most productive phone call I could have made in a long time.
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