In 1971, Jean-Pierre Beltoise ran out of fuel in the 1000 Kilometers of Buenos Aires and tried to push his Matra prototype into the pits. Oncoming Ferrari driver Ignazio Giunti had no chance to avoid Beltoise, crashed, and died.
Beltoise's push sparking the accident (recorded here) might be the biggest misjudgment and possibly the stupidest move in motorsports history.
While not quite as moronic as Beltoise's complete lapse in judgment, today we looked at a run-in between the cops and a bunch of bikers outside of St. Louis. There were no deaths, but Monsterajr did point out what these kinds of meet ups mean for motorcycle riders.
I've been on a number of very large group rides that were organized with the approval and aide of multiple Police agencies and we were able to ride unmolested by the Police. We all behaved relatively well ie: no wheelies, stoppies, or other such douchebaggery. There were momentary blasts well above the speed limits but that was about it.
Initially this video feels much like my rides, until of course they all chose to ignore the cops. The law abiding and insured motorcyclists appear to actually stop. All the others are totally in the wrong for bailing up the entrance ramp the wrong way. I can't imagine doing that, so anything that legally happens to them after that is fine by me.
I personally cannot stand when I see these types of "Streetfighterz" on an open highway/road practicing their "stunts". I too have been buzzed by a dozen or so at high speed from both sides of my vehicle only to have them all slow up to let each other catch up, then perform stunts before us. If my wife hadn't been in the car with me I might have accidentally taken a few out when I "couldn't" stop in time.
They are examples of what give good motorcyclists bad names. I don't agree with the cops for actually trying to hit the bikes though.
Photo Credit: ELF via Automobiliac