Just been listening to @simonmundie interview MotoGP rider Cal Crutchlow on Don't Tell me the Score podcast. I just have to tell my Cal Crutchlow story. THREAD
Me, @AberPsych and @drmcarley were doing research on motorcyclists' hearing loss from wind noise. We used EPSRC money to book a race track and I spent a day blasting round on a motorbike with engineers asking me to go faster and faster. BEST DAY'S RESEARCH EVER.
This wasn't purely for fun. Me and my helmet were covered in very small and astonishingly expensive microphones to measure the wind 
Anyway, with this done, we decided we needed some extra data from right up the top end of the speed range - speeds that my bike couldn't manage (note I carefully blame the bike and not the rider 😐)
Through a chain of friends, we wangled an invite to the MotoGP qualifying day at Castle Donnington. Backstage passes, free to wander round the pits, and everything. THIS SORT OF STUFF DOESN'T NORMALLY HAPPEN TO UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS
The plan was we'd stick the mics in Cal's ears for some of his qualifying rides. But there was a problem. Cal had crashed in practice the day before and broken his foot. He was an hour late to the pits because he couldn't get his boot on.
He eventually arrived, looking very sore, and went out for a ride. We stood around and chatted to the mechanics, waiting until he got back so we could mic his head up. As we chatted, one of the race monitor screens showed a puff of dust. Cal had crashed his bike. Oh shit.
Ten minutes later, he limped into the pits, broken foot now joined by shredded leathers and who knows what sort of scrapes and bruises. Cal casually grabbed a roll of gaffa tape, taped his leathers back into something approaching one piece, and jumped on the spare bike.
He then went out and immediately broke the course lap record.
We never did get data from him thanks to the crashes, but I had to share this story to to show that MotoGP riders are not like the rest of us.
Also, we got to hang out behind the scenes at Donnington all day which is something I'll happily mention given the slightest chance
Also, we got to hang out behind the scenes at Donnington all day which is something I'll happily mention given the slightest chance
ADDENDUM We later also had a spontaneous offer of help from the Hell's Angels. As I said, this sort of stuff doesn't normally happen to researchers
