Unfit to drive?

Seeing Valentino Rossi walking with the aid of crutches within weeks of breaking his tibia, I'm pretty sure that had he been an F1 driver he wouldn't have been allowed to race. I recall reading about Prof Syd Watkins getting a recovering driver to jump from a chair to the ground to prove his fitness.

a bike rider will most probably have been pre-extracted

Seeing Valentino Rossi walking with the aid of crutches within weeks of breaking his tibia...

Edited by Wirra, 28 July 2010 - 13:15.

IIRC he broke his right leg, then why was he using the stick with his left arm!

I thought the Rossi walking stick thing was an absolute joke. At one stage he took half a dozen steps in the garage before turning and collecting his stick from a team member and then appearing out of the garage to his adoring fans and media using the stick – and then only for a few steps before mounting the bike. I’m not questioning his courage (or appearance fee!) I just think it was another case of Rossi showmanship. IIRC he broke his right leg, then why was he using the stick with his left arm!

On a bike he is the greatest rider I’ll ever see and I agree with GD66 that MotoGP will struggle when he goes, but then again I thought that with Schumacher and F1.

I remember Jean-Pierre Jabouille in 81(?) struggling to get in and out of his car.

I thought the Rossi walking stick thing was an absolute joke.

As for taking a few steps before getting the stick - I am currently recovering from knee surgery and trust me you often get up and start to walk before realising you need the walking stick after all!

I can't recall all the details, but I once read a story about Alan Stacy passing a physical by jerking his artificial leg when the physician tapped it to test reflexes. I'm pretty sure Jim Clark was involved somehow, and it might have been some sort of practical joke. Anyone know this story?

An F1 driver is required to be able to extricate himself from his car in a certain amount of time (three seconds, perhaps?), but I don't know if they repeat that test when he is injured or if they simply do it at the start of the season to test whether the cockpit is designed properly to allow for quick exits.

I forget where I read it, but the story went something like this
Alan Stacey would cross his legs with the good leg on top. The doctor would tap his knee with his little hammer and after observing the knee jerk would then say "Other leg please".
At this point one of the other drivers (the name Innes Ireland was mentioned but it could equally well have been Clark or another Lotus driver) would create a distraction, eg trip over the waste bin, fall over, grope the nurse.
Alan would fumble around crossing and uncrossing his legs and end up with the same leg on top.
The doctor wouldn't notice and would tap his knee with his little hammer and and after observing the knee jerk would then say that well known medical term "Hmmmmm" followed by "OK".

That sounds like how I remember it. Thanks.

I have a friend who has been racing FV every year since 1968 and is now having some medical problems - says "as long as I can fool the dr. for my medical, I will be racing". He is still very competitive and usually beats all the guys who are much younger.

Robert Barg

I remember Jean-Pierre Jabouille in 81(?) struggling to get in and out of his car.

Yes, that was in 81.... Jabouille seems to not have displayed signs of his pain and difficulties...

Edited by Wirra, 29 July 2010 - 11:47.

Rossi does only have a flesh wound compared with what Mick Doohan went through and raced with. And continued winning.

Bike racers are a different breed, I have known them to saw off plaster to race. In speedway you can guess the bike competitors, they are the ones limping!!......