MD Readers Weigh in on F1 Legend Michael Schumacher's Motorcycle Racing

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• Take it from me that injuries don't heal as fast as you age . But you got to live your life and risk is apart of living so I say good for him go for it.
  
  
• If Schumacher enjoys it & understands & accepts the risks then he should continue motorcycle racing.
  
  
• I’m 43, and while not rich I’m comfortable. I do many track days every year and a bit of club racing. I’m not the greatest or the fastest, but it’s fun. I just don’t think it’s terribly relevant what we think is smart or OK. None of us know how much enjoyment or meaning motorcycle racing brings to Schumaker. Would I do it, well probably not but I lack the focus to ever get good enough to race at that level, but I’d still be doing track days and amateur racing. The money seems somewhat irrelevant, if he loves it, is having fun, and not putting other competitors at risk due to his riding, more power to him. Me, I’d probably mix my interests up a bit.
  
  
• Having the responsibility of all that money may be a tempering influence, but the man definitely has the “speed jones” and probably cannot help himself.
  
  
• Uh......how old is Max Biaggi? Maybe he should take his own advice. Furthermore, I wonder how Aprilia feels about their new rider's mindset. "So Max, how do you feel about your new team and your chances at a championship in this year's WSBK series?" "Well, I've strapped on my Depends and I just hope I don't break my neck"
  
  
• Yes. Isn’t that one of the great things about having that much money? You can do whatever the fart your heart desires whenever and wherever you want.
  
  
• What is the point of living if you can't enjoy what you're into when you're physically/financially (<- har har) able? I was incredibly excited when I heard that Michael Schumacher was motorcycle road racing. To have such an icon of motor sports bringing awareness to two wheeled racing is monumental. It's clear that Schumy is a racer at heart and he should continue to enjoy the sensation of speed and thrill of competition for as long as he's able.
  
  
• Schumacher is following his passion and I applaud him. I admire his foresight to start small. I think it shows a lot about his character that he is willing to go out there and compete. Sure the safe thing would be to rest on your laurels and cruise through life. Instead he has found another challenge. Like Jordan playing baseball. So what if won't be great at least he has the courage to try.
  
  
• If you are passionate about motorcycles, why not? I am 53 and ride routinely with some much younger than I am, and while s o m e may be faster, I still have a great time!
  
  
• If I'm a 40 year old billionaire and have the passion to go fast on two instead of 4, hell yeah I'm gonna go out and push it. Age and income have nothing to do with the thrill of making a bike go fast. It's one of the last sports on Earth where the purists still dominate. Good on him.
  
  
• "Inform Michael to 'air out' his bank account providing sorely needed SPONSORSHIP to worthy riders and teams!" 'Breaking one's neck' DOE'S end your riding!
  
  
• Absolutely, especially when the option is Cialis, Viagra, or to end up like Pete Rose with no outlet but gambling! LOL Go right for it Michael. Motorcycle racing will keep you immersed.
  
  
• TI don't care who you are or how much money you have, if motorcycles are in your blood,you just gotta do it!...I am 66 and been riding for 50 years and if I had the oppurtunity throughout my time I would be doing the same.Just know when to stop feeding your ego by trying to compete against the competition!....
  
  
• I retired from hobby racing at 40 years. Brain injury hurts.
  
  
• What else would you do if you were a billionaire? (Besides supermodels on yachts.)
  
  
• You bet I would
  
  
• Let him do what he wants to do. I and a lot of my friends still ride motocross every weekend even as we move toward 50. Thanks god for freedom and the right to choose………do whatever blows your hair back.
  
  
• What's being a 40 year old billionaire have to do with it? Or for that matter, what's age and financial standing at any level have to do with it? If you can and want to, go for it!
  
  
• No, I would not race bikes professionally if I was a 40-year old billionaire. But I'm not Schumacher. He apparently has one of the most brutal workout routines on earth. He seems as fit as any world-class non-steriod-using athlete. He's obviously "driven" (pun unintended).
  
  My own apparently original hypothesis: Motorcycle champions fail as open-wheel car racers because motorcycle lap times are so much slower (a simple function of the ratio of weight-to-tire contact area, heavily favoring cars). A supreme sense of balance & sensitivity in one's limbs (ability to ride almost constantly just beyond the edge of traction) may be a prerequisite for motorcycle championships. Cars may be so much quicker than bikes that car champions must have quicker reflexes than what is typically required to win motorcycle championships.
  
  Maybe Schumacher has a unique combination of fast reflexes & a supreme sense of balance. If so, good for him.
  
  
• I've been motorcycling since 1970, and at 71 years old, I will not stop because I love the continuing challenge. Just because you are flush, doesn't mean you should stop doing the things you enjoy.
  
  
• Max Biaggi's comments appear to be inappropriate. I give a lot of credit to Michael Schumacher for wanting to compete in a motorsports event. After 30 years of riding motorcyclesand at the age of 45, I too decided to go racing and purchased a purpose built race bike (Yamaha TZ250). As the lap times decreased, so too did the margin for error. Crashing is almost inevitable when trying to find the limits of both the bike and of the rider. Fortunately, most crashes require motorcycle repair time (and cost) versus physical mending. That's not to say that the sport isn't dangerous. We've all seen or heard stories about severe accidents and even fatalities at the track. Racing is a calculated risk and Mr. Schumacher appears to be an intelligent man who both understands and accepts these risks.
  
  
• This 47 year thousand-aire has been racing for 7 years. I've got many years left in me too.
  
  
• Michael Schumacher is on the right track. Let his heart carry him to more wins and just the joy of racing alone is reason enough to get on a track in anger. At 40 yrs. he is a young man with plenty of skills. The money helps, so there can be nothing wrong with that. Keep going Michael!
  
  I have never had the money to get on a track. Of course all the speeding fines I have paid over the years might have covered a few track sessions. Now in my mid sixties I can say that the older I get the faster I was. But I did spend more than forty years in the saddle (and a few off) and I can find my way up and down a canyon at a very respectable pace to this day.
  
  So I say good for you Michael, just keep doing it as long as it feels right!
  
  
• Hell no......!
  
  
• There comes a point in a man's life when he must know his limits. Michael has cheated death hundreds of times driving in Formula One. He set the standard for winning in F-1. His foray into Superbike racing is a big mistake. Racing fans miss every great driver who has perished. Ayrton Sienna and Gilles Villeneuve come to mind first.
  
  Michael can enjoy riding a motorcycle fast on track days, specially-arranged Nuremburg events and making appearances around the world as a guest of MotoGP, WSB and Formula One race promoters. He shouldn't be risking his life chasing fame and victory at this point. His life is more important. Just ask his wife and his two children. What would they rather have, a live Michael or a dead legend?
  
  
• You bet go hard Mr. Schumacher. If it’s your passion pursue it. While you can still throw your leg over a bike and be as competitive as you want to be why not. Have known guys in their sixties to still be racing competitivley a national level. Mr. Biggai should know age is no barrier.
  
  
• Would I keep racing if I were a 40-year-old billionaire? The answer is yes. I am a 40-year-old club racer and the only difference a billion would make is that I would have access to cooler bikes, more time to train and better gear. The concern for personal injury as it relates to love of riding and racing is unrelated to the size of a bank account.
  
  
• You darn right I would! I think it was Malcolm Smith who said you don’t quit riding because you get old, you get old because you quit riding. "Motorcycle racing is a dangerous hobby"… Wow! Max’s rocket is likely ready for production too.
  
  
• I'm old enough to remember when sex was safe and motorcycles were dangerous. So if schumi wants to race who cares. If it was me I would be trying to buy a cagive v4 2 stroke or a honda nsr vtwin
  
  
• You've heard it before, its not the quantity of life, its the quality........everyone dies, not everyone lives, Michael Schumacher wants to keep on living.
  
  
• Oh no, I'm afraid I'd have to retire to Japan so I can rent Suzuka on a regular basis to hoon my Darcy tuned RG500 gamma around the track (yes, I do own one), and employ a full on pit crew of pure cosplay race queens, strapping abalone girls all of them.
  
  
• Leave him alone and let him race. He's a grown man, an extraordinary one at that. You have to love the guy, he's a racer. Go Michael
  
  
• Why not? Cars are boring compared to motorcycles!
  
  
• Just what does Schumacher's financial stature have to do with his willingness or ability to ride a motorcycle on a track? At least the repair bill (for him and/or the bike) won't give him a coronary. As for being 40 years old, give me a break! Schumacher is undoubtedly in better shape than most 30 year old track day junkies scattered around the world.
  
  
• No, he should not race motorcycles. He has achieved all there was to achieve in the pinnacle of auto racing, proved that he is very quick on a motorcycle (posting lap times within 5 seconds of the top riders in his 1st outing), but he has small kids and a family to think of. It just takes 1 crash, falling in the wrong position to either end your life, paralyze you, etc. It would be selfish to continue …
  
  
• If Michael wants to learn how to race better, or just likes to flog the heck out of whatever race bike he happens to be enjoying, more power to him. It’s obvious he loves the sport, and has for a long time. The fact that he’s willing to push hard enough to risk serious injury is a testament to that competitive drive that he has. I’d love to see him do well, and maybe even break some new ground for us old guys (56 for me) who are trying to get better at something we started way to late in life but love nonetheless. Go Micheal!!
  
  
• MOTORCYCLING LIKE IM SURE CAR RACING IS IN YOUR BLOOD. THOSE OF US THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND IT ALL OUR LIVES KNOW NOTHING ELSE. WE COULDNT GET IT OUT IF WE TRIED. I THINK THAT IS AWSOME THAT A GUY LIKE SCHUMACHER IS RISKING IT ALL, EVEN THOUGH HE COULD JUST GO TO THE GOLF COURSE EVERYDAY AND PUT HIMSELF IN IN DANGER. IT IS THE ESSENCE OF OUR PASSION. ANYONE THAT THINKS HE IS WRONG FOR STILL WANTING TO PUSH THE EDGE, JUST DOES NOT COMPREHEND WHY HE IS WHERE HE IS AND HAS ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH. IF HE IS NOT THAT WAY HE WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN THE GREATEST F-1 EVER LIKE HE IS. HOORAY FOR MICHAEL. AND IF HE INJURES OR GOD FORBID KILLS HIMSELF IN THE PROCESS THEN AT LEAST HE DID IT ON HIS TERMS AND DOING WHAT HE LOVES. THE FAILURE IS NOT IN LOSING, THE FAILURE IN IN NEVER TRYING. BETTER TO DIE EARLY DOING WHAT YOU LOVE. THEN LIVE FOREVER WISHING YOU WOULD HAVE
  
  
• If I had that kind of dosh, I'd be at every track day I could book on the best rig I could buy.
  
  If I had that kind of dosh AND skill and industry hookups, I'd be doing the same thing as Fast Mike.
  
  Lots or guys on bikes ride to pose. But I'd say most ride because they love to ride. Most of us non-billionaires scrape together what cash we can to buy a competent track bike, safety gear and hit a few track days if possible (or at least the closest twisty roads) and take the chance of crashing and getting injured. It's for the love of the challenge, the thrill of riding near the edge - the same thing that drives most all racers, I'd imagine.
  
  That and it's just insane fun.
  
  The fact that Schumacher is out there pushing hard enough to crash and set fast laps despite his billions and star status is testimony to his seeking the truth in what he does. How fast can I go? What are my limits? These are questions any serious rider asks themselves. Good on him for continuing to look for his limits at 40.
  
  
• Absolutely. Time to get busy living, and there ain't no living like bike racing. The only thing that would stop me is my body or brain not being up to it.
  
  
• Let him do what he wants, he's earned the privilege. It sounds like he's making a better transition from car to motorcycle than Mike Hailwood did going the other direction.
  
  
• Live your life the way you want to Michael. . . . .tell Biaggi that he and his attitude can to go to hell. The savant of Formula 1 is not looking for glory; he's just living his life and hopefully finding some joy in the twist of the wrist. I am 49 and love my R1200S street bike and R1 track bike . . . . . you would be hard pressed to make me stop riding either and that would NOT change if I was a billionaire like Schumacher.
  
  
• He should absolutely keep riding. If motorcycles are his passion and he is reasonably skilled, which he obviously is, then why not? Safety nannies won't agree though. We should all be safe as possible in all aspects of our lives goes their line of thinking. Eek out as many boring years as possible so we can safely make it to the retirement home and be able to play shuffle board well. Life is way too short to go through it not doing what you love because of fear. Go for it Michael! Sure miss him being in F1.
  
  
• I am not a billionaire and about to do my first ever motorcycle racing at the age of 50. So, to answer your question, yes I would keep racing if I were a 40 y.o. billionaire :-D
  
  
• Retirement does not cure the racing bug.
  
  
• When you are an accomplished/retired F-1 racer/billionaire then you can do whatever you want. If Max Biaggi was as half as successful in Moto GP as Schumacher was in F-1 I'm sure he would keep doing what he was doing during his years racing.... Dating "has-beens" like Claudia Schiffer only to get dumped! Schumacher on the other hand is a true competitor and this sort of thing will run in your blood 'til the day you drop your bike for good. I was never a big fan of his but I do respect his competitiveness.
  
  
• It is only when you face death that you appreciate life. Let him live et BRAVO!
  
  
• I think a lot of motorcyclists are upset that a "car guy" can get on a bike, and go fast. But Schumey clearly has what it takes (vision, balance, reflexes, ice water for blood) to go fast, on ANYTHING!. It makes you wonder, if he had started racing bikes earlier, would anyone have ever heard of Rossi? He's retired from F-1, has more money then God, but still has an addiction to speed. How can you not love him?
  
  
• YES!!! I’d absolutely keep racing if I were a 40 year old billionaire. And, I’d be only too happy to die racing as a 40 year old billionaire.
  
  
• The billionaire element is somewhat irrelevant, other than the fact that it would enable you to bank roll yourself and leave your family in a very secure financial position should the absolute worst happen. But, as to the question of whether you should race at 40 or beyond, why not; you're a long time dead and if racing is what you enjoy, it is arguably what keeps you young, mentally and physically fit. Without actually knowing, I suspect the injury statistics of club racing (not public road riding), would place it as being no more dangerous than some other hobbies, perhaps horse riding for example.
  
  
• I'm a seventy-year old thousandaire and I still club race - so why shouldn't Michael.
  
  
• ... it does not matter if you are rich or poor, the most accomplished racer ever / F1 god or one to have never scraped a knee, have access to all toys or just a beat up bike - all of us motorcycle riders are equally nuts at some level. I have watched every race of Schumi's career, but this as a fellow motorcyclist make me admire the man more for following his passions.
  
  
• I think he should race for fun and let the competition to the pro. But if you are bored, you try silly things. Specially if you are a 40-year-old billionaire.
  
  
• what does being cashed up and 40 have to do with your desire to race? The guy is a racer at heart I guess, and thats not related to age, gender, bank account (though he may get to do it in more style than most!) or race for that matter!
  
  
• I wouldn't stop doing what I enjoy if I was rich.
  
  
• My answer is a resounding, yes! 40 isn't old, and what's the use in having all that cash if not to allow you the FREEDOM to do whatever the heck you want. Why do any of us ride? Because it's fun and exciting. If I had the cash to take it to the next level and go racing, I'd do it in a second. What's he supposed to do as a 40 year old billionaire? Live in a boring, protective bubble so he can live as long as possible to spend as much of his green as possible. He's having fun taking a calculated risk. Rock On Michael!
  
  
• What should he do, sit in a recliner & count his money?............The guy is LIVING and loving life, even if his hobbies may shorten the duration of said life.
  
  
• Hell yes! I'm currently 43 and relatively poor compared to Schumacher, the racing is the only thing keeping me going! Being a billionaire would just give me a larger selection of better bikes.
  
  
• Would I keep racing if I were a forty-year-old billionaire? What else is the point of becoming a forty-year-old billionaire? So you can do stuff like race motorcycles or whatever else it is that floats your boat. Duh.
  
  
• This question you pose seems very silly to me. Should a 40 year old wealthy multi-time world F1 champ continue to race motorcycles? Of course he should do whatever brings him joy without destroying others around him just like the rest of us. Perhaps you should ask if a 19 year old should consider racing as the cost and danger are both so high. Or better yet should any of us ride given the risks? I was never a huge Michael Schumacher fan during his time in F1, now that he's trying his hand at bikes I've raised my level of respect for him.
  
  
• In a word, hell yes. I'm 60 and no billionaire, but my goal is to race at the club level before I die. If I were 40 and a billionaire, I would do very little else! I certainly wouldn't be handicapped by a work schedule. I've tried other "extreme" sports in my life but nothing comes close to the thrill of leaning my CBR1000RR over in a curve at 100+mph just inches off the ground (on the track, of course)!
  
  
• I would flog the finest bike money can buy like a rented redheaded mule! Yes, bikes are dangerous,...so are leggy blondes and letting a dog lick your face! Life is short, and god has no VIP list. Ride your ass off Max, why dont you spend a few bucks to hire an Italian Doctor to give you a few pointers! Tell Biaggi that sour grapes suck, maybe he would be more successful teaching bicycle safety!
  
  
• What's the harm? His families family is taken care of for generations, and he's having fun riding in the German national series. What would you rather he do, get fat tooteling his Harley around Düsseldorf picking up chicks? Apparently he's not the embarrassment that Mike Hailwood was in F1, and even if he's doing it on his own dime, he's not buying his way to a title. Good for him say I.
  
  
• Michael has lived a life that many people cant comprehend .When you are that good at racing (ecspecially F1 racing) done it all, won it all you cant just stop and take up basket weaving. Motorcycle road racing is one of the most fluid flowing motosports out there, and when your mind can be as relaxed at speed as Michael`s is, it just a great way to spend a weekend. Please keep in mind what this man has done in life, he must really enjoy a challenge. If he is 40 and thats what he wants to do, then thank you for picking my sport, it`s a great credit to have you! And yes your going to crash but please keep in mind he is in the most controled enviroment to do so, a race track! It would be a dream come true to spend a day working on his riding and bike set up! So who cares if he tips over. Im really happy he picks our great sport. why don`t we cover more on how he is doing at it. To me it`s the greatest sport ever! so thanks Micheal.
  
  

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