Remember those rumors that Michael Schumacher was gearing up to race motorcycles? Well, despite the initial denials, the retired seven-time F1 champion surprised crowds at the Pannonia-Ring in Hungary by showing up on the grid for a motorcycle race.The paddock was filled largely by amateur riders, but Schumacher was joined in his appearance by IDM (German Superbike) champion Martin Bauer on 1000cc Honda Superbikes and fellow IDM rider Andy Meklau. On his motorbike racing debut, Schumacher took pole despite only running a few practice laps beforehand, but opted to start the race with the IDM pros who were handicapped with back-of-the-grid starting positions. That didn't stop the seasoned trio from dominating the event, however, as they filled the podium, Schumi coming in third. (Schumacher, however, shied away from the limelight by not attending the podium ceremony.) Although Schumi's lap times were six seconds slower than the IDM pair, he was some 0.6 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Not bad for his first race. Not too bad at all.
[Source: Autosport]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Yago Bal @ Mar 25th 2008 9:40AM
Ufff... this man isn't a normal athlete
Drewboy @ Mar 25th 2008 10:20AM
That's a Vespa SCOOTER. I'd like one of those...
mctwist16 @ Mar 25th 2008 10:21AM
queue the ferrari superbike development program
Way of the Future @ Mar 25th 2008 11:10AM
he's a fantastic driver of anything (F1, Motorbike, Taxi), but he should have joined the others on the podium. I bet you 4th place would have loved to be on the podium
Mobius_1 @ Mar 25th 2008 11:27AM
He might have won in a taxi!
Takeo @ Mar 25th 2008 11:50AM
Sheesh, is he even human or android? Maybe he uses the force so he can see things before they happen.
KAD @ Mar 25th 2008 12:04PM
Yes he is a great racer but if you read the original article you will find that he raced a bunch of amateurs riding 600cc bikes while he was riding a 1000cc bike. Depending on the type of track his larger displacement bike would have given him a huge advantage on the straights. So while this is a noteworthy accomplishment for a 39 year old retired cage racer, it is not that unbelievable of an accomplishment. I would have been more so if he did the same thing with the same displacement bike as the other's were riding.
mikomi @ Mar 25th 2008 12:15PM
He was probably aware of his 400cc advantage when he decided to stay away from the podium celebrations.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Mar 25th 2008 12:18PM
You mean the denials that he would be racing MotoGP, followed by comments that if he were to do this he'd race at a lower level first?
Seems like this information turned out to be true, as this isn't a MotoGP race, in fact is a very low-level race.
So why paint it like it was false?
jason @ Mar 25th 2008 1:11PM
If Michael could stay close enough exiting the last corner he could probably past people wholesale down the straight.
What equipment were the IDM riders on?
Woo haa some guy with TONS of racing experience can out pace guys by a half secound with extra 400ccs. But 6 seconds is an absolute crazy amount of time to make up if on similar equipment.
chris @ Mar 25th 2008 5:17PM
He was within a couple seconds of Casey Stoner on Caparossi's 2007 bike in a test not too long ago, I doubt these IDM guys would smack him by 6 seconds a lap without being on far superior machines.
Mino @ Mar 25th 2008 11:49PM
this guy is just fast on anything that runs on petrol and wheels apparently