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As if sticking his neck out in Formula One for 15 years was not risky enough, retired Grand Prix legend Michael Schumacher has switched to motorbike racing.
And that has brought a warning from F1 supremo and long-term admirer Bernie Ecclestone, who exclaimed: “You must be crazy.”
Ecclestone, a one-time bike racer who quit when he got badly injured, fears for Schuey’s safety in his latest passion. And he reminds the 39-year-old father of two: “Bike racing can hurt. Big time.”
He went on to add: “In Formula One, Michael was always pushing for more safety — now he’s racing motorbikes. What could be more dodgy than that? I don’t understand why he would risk getting himself seriously injured. It makes no sense to me.”
Schuey became fired up to two-wheel racing when he had a secret run-out on world MotoGP champ Casey Stoner’s Ducati and got to within five seconds of the track record in Valencia.
Since then, he has had a high-speed tumble in testing — and a remarkable fourth place in his debut race in Italy when he fought back from 14th place inside 10 laps. Not only that, he clocked the second-fastest time against a bunch of regular riders.
The seven-time Formula One record-breaking champion, worth around £800 million (Dhs 5.7 billion), is employed as an adviser to his old Ferrari team, and still test drives for the Italian GP giants — but he craves competition.
“I’m hooked,” he confesses. “I love a challenge and the chance to go head-to-head — and I enjoy bike racing, but I’m not about to take on a professional series.”
His old team boss Jean Todt is fearful for Schuey’s well-being in the madcap melees of bike racing and says: “Goodness knows why Michael feels he has to compete when he has long-since proved his racing ability and genius.”
From his magnificent lakeside mansion in Switzerland, Schumacher replied: “My first race was really great fun. I was a bit cautious at first because I felt I was not really good at it.
“I had to make a fightback from 14th place and I really enjoyed the overtaking. I love the competition, whatever I’m doing.
“But just as I did in Formula One, I strongly take care not to go over the top or overstep the mark.
“However, despite that little bit of success, I am not presumptuous enough to assume I could step into the professional arena,” Schumacher said.
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