MotoGP - Michael Scott - Pit Lane

The great grand prix thought experiment

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Michael Scott - a regular in the MotoGP paddock since 1984 and familiar to motorcycle racing fans worldwide through his best selling books on the likes of Wayne Rainey and Barry Sheene has been covering MotoGP since long before it was MotoGP. Remember two-strokes? Scott does.

If a tree falls in a forest and there is nobody around to hear it, does it make a sound?

The question forms a famous so-called “thought experiment”, which – when first aired in an American philosophical magazine in 1883 (thank you, Wikipedia) – elicited a negative answer. No-one to hear it equals no sound.

Which is a little bit difficult to agree with. Particularly if you have an imaginary friend, who might have been standing under the tree at the time.

So, if a motorcycle race, for example the 24 Hours at Le Mans, takes place without any spectators, has it really happened?

American fans have already found out; MotoGP followers soon likewise, starting July 19 per the newly announced calendar. And at Le Man, we’ll find out at the end of August, when the classic endurance race is due to take place in private at the Bugatti circuit. But I guess that since all the bikes have more than one rider, each of whom will presumably be aware of his team-mates, then the race will be real enough. To them, anyway.