Well, it's like speeding or gambling. We do it thinking we will come out OK. If a disaster occurred every time, we would not take the risk since it wouldn't be a risk anymore, but just plain stupidity. Surgeon and team took a risk thinking they had a bailout if things didn't work out. They didn't expect problems to escalate as they did. Marc, who takes a risk every time he jumps on that bike, did what he is so accustomed to doing once he got the nod to go ahead. This is why he said that he depends on the team and doctors to help him decide. Once he's allowed, he will be going on the bike.... gotta love him for his tenacity. That's part of his training and conditioning. He's a gladiator.
Now that a disaster has occurred, the blame game starts. Someone has to be held fully accountable. This latest one about the initial operation being doomed to failure from the get go is one example.
With good, even reasonable, fixation, there's no need to wear a cast or sling. What he shouldn't be doing is heavy training and riding at MotoGP speeds as if there's no fracture trying to heal. It boggles my mind what they were thinking taking such a risk. The doctors and teams have been pushing the envelope with allowing riders to ride injured and they've been getting away with it. I was amazed at Lorenzo's early comeback after fracturing his clavicle and having it plated. He got away with it but it set an interesting precedent. Others would follow suit and try to push the envelope even further. The system of determining fitness for riding needs an overhaul and sadly, it takes events as these to prompt such change since otherwise, the teams and riders will be complaining.
It's the up to the governing body to legislate regulations that protect the riders from the teams and also, the riders from themselves. Not only rules that discourage cheating, dangerous or irresponsible riding, but also rules that ensure riders are properly recovered from injuries. A long bone fracture heals relatively predictably. The governing body's mistake is to buy into the notion that an internally fixated long-bone fracture that allows for early mobilisation and faster rehab, should be allowed to undergo the stresses of riding and worse, the risk of falling off the bike and stressing the fixation in an uncontrolled way.
When Marc withdrew from the race, I was relieved but further damage already been done. Enough to lead to the chain of events we are still witnessing unfold after almost a year, rather than 6-8 weeks.
