Throttle Pinned: The North West 200
CHAPTERS
1. Speed, Excitement & Purity
1.速度，兴奋和纯净
2. Road Warriors
2.公路勇士
3. Getting Ready To Race
3.准备比赛
4. Rain, Rain, Go Away
雨，雨，走开
5. Let’s Go Racing
我们去赛车吧
Every form of motorsport – and there are quite a few of them out there – likes to push a key idea that makes them stand out.
Some put the emphasis on incredible control of a vehicle, while others run marketing solely focused on spectacle and excitement. The pursuit of seconds, tenths and decimal points is at the heart of plenty, while outright speed is at the core of others.
Motorcycle road racing seems to have taken each of these factors and turned them up to 11, but still remains a humble and hidden spectacle enjoyed by a hardcore fanbase.
每种形式的赛车运动 - 并且其中有相当多的一些 - 喜欢推出一个让他们脱颖而出的关键想法。
一些人把重点放在对车辆的不可控制的控制上，而另一些则专注于对景观和兴奋的营销。追求秒，十分和小数点是充足的核心，而直接的速度是其他人的核心。
摩托车公路赛似乎已经采取了这些因素，并将它们提升至11，但仍然是一个由铁杆粉丝团享受的谦逊和隐藏的景象。
The riders are modern day heroes, warriors of the road putting absolutely everything on the line each and every time they mount their machines.
骑手是现代英雄，战士们每次安装他们的机器时都会把所有东西都放在线上。
The risk here is real, and that’s a part of the massive appeal for everyone involved.
这里的风险是真实的，这是每个参与者的巨大吸引力的一部分。
Whereas fans of F1 or rallying can endlessly evoke memories of the crazy days of old, road racing has a real sense of being the last pure form of motorsport left untouched. The prospect of sending a motorbike screaming down a closed public road, lined by trees, walls and everything else in between, has remained the same for over 100 years.
虽然F1或者拉力赛的粉丝可以无休止地唤起人们对旧时代疯狂岁月的回忆，但公路赛真正意义上是最后一种纯粹的赛车运动形式。在一条封闭的公共道路上发出摩托车尖叫的前景，在树木，墙壁和其他一切之间排成一行，100多年来一直保持不变。
In this ever-evolving modern world, it feels as if road racing just doesn’t compute with the new age ideals. It’s fast, dangerous and raw in an era where everyone wants sophistication, technology and safety beamed across their motorsport. Gleaming, pristine and safe is not road racing, and it’s likely why unless you live in or near a very few select pockets of the world, this is a spectacle you won’t be seeing on your doorstop.
在这个不断发展的现代世界中，感觉就像公路赛不能用新时代的理想来计算。在一个每个人都希望在赛车运动中传播精致，技术和安全的时代，它是快速，危险和原始的。闪闪发光，质朴和安全不是公路赛，而且除非你住在世界上很少的选择口袋里或者附近，这可能是为什么这是你在门口看不到的奇观。
While favourable to the palette of the general public, road racing is followed with such incredible passion that it’s hard not to be enthralled by it once you find an in. Racing often happens away from the glare of the media, with even the most prestigious events barely registering on the spectrum of news stories we are swamped with on a daily basis.
虽然有利于公众的调色板，公路赛也伴随着如此令人难以置信的激情，一旦你找到了，很难不被它迷住。赛车经常远离媒体的眩光，甚至是最负盛名的赛事几乎没有注册我们每天都被淹没的新闻报道。
The most famous of all, no question, is the annual Tourist Trophy, or TT Festival, on the Isle of Man, a quaint island positioned between Ireland and the UK mainland. A mecca for racers, it sits at the core of a season of races on either side of its coast. Scarborough in England is well respected, but the vast majority of race meetings happen between the North and the Republic of Ireland.
Like rallying on the island, legislation allows events to take place, and our passion for speed and commitment keeps them absolutely thriving.
毫无疑问，最着名的是位于爱尔兰和英国大陆之间的古老岛屿马恩岛上的年度旅游奖杯或TT节。作为赛车手的圣地，它位于其海岸两侧的赛季中。英格兰的斯卡伯勒受到了很好的尊重，但绝大多数的比赛都发生在北爱尔兰和爱尔兰共和国之间。
就像岛上的拉力赛一样，立法允许举办活动，我们对速度和承诺的热情使他们绝对欣欣向荣。
Of all the road racing that happens in Ireland, one event sits atop the pile. It’s the biggest event, attracting the biggest names and biggest teams.
Welcome to the North West 200.
在爱尔兰发生的所有公路赛中，有一项赛事落在了一堆。这是最大的活动，吸引了大牌和最大的球队。
欢迎来到西北200。
CHAPTER TWO
Road Warriors
公路勇士
Standing on any grid before a race is an odd experience. All around, VIPs and guests mingle, giddy on free alcohol and the excitement of being up close and personal with the stars.
Crews run around making final tweaks, while drivers or riders trade solely on their personal traits. Some sit silently, quietly preparing themselves for the race ahead; others take time to chat, smile and relieve tension.
在比赛前站在任何格子上是一种奇怪的体验。周围，贵宾和客人混在一起，头晕目眩，享受免费酒精以及与星星近距离亲密接触的兴奋。
船员们会进行最后的调整，而司机或骑手只根据他们的个人特征进行交易。有些人静静地坐着，静静地为前方的比赛做准备; 其他人需要时间聊天，微笑并缓解紧张情绪。
On a road race grid, there is a certain feeling that lies in the air and seems almost unshakable: The risk.
The moment each and every leather-clad rider dons their helmet and swings their leg over their machine, they’re risking everything for the buzz of racing. The adrenaline, many of them say, is so addictive, and that makes the danger almost redundant in the thought stream.
Pinning a throttle wide open is their drug; it’s what keeps them coming back time and time again, no matter what.
在公路赛车网格上，有一种空气中的某种感觉，似乎几乎不可动摇：风险。
每一个穿着皮衣的骑手都会戴上头盔并将他们的腿摆在他们的机器上的那一刻，他们冒着一切争夺赛车的风险。许多人说，肾上腺素是如此令人上瘾，这使得危险在思想流中几乎是多余的。
将油门撬开是他们的药物; 这是让他们一次又一次地回来的原因，无论如何。
There are accidents – it happens when you spend your day putting a motorcycle right on the limit – but minor bumps and scrapes are worn with a sense of pride or bravado.
有一些意外 - 当你花一天时间把摩托车放在极限上时会发生这种事故 - 但是有轻微的颠簸和擦伤会带来一种自豪感或虚张声势。
The reality is that every competitor that takes to a road race circuit is holding their life in their gloved hands. But that’s part of the game, an occupational hazard.
There are plenty of safer places to race a motorbike, but that seems dull and boring to the road racers. Circuits feel like motorways compared to the tiny lanes so many have grown up racing down. It’s the safety issue that irks the racing community most of all, as their sport often only makes the headlines when things go very wrong.
现实情况是，参加公路赛的所有参赛者都戴着戴手套的手。但这是游戏的一部分，一种职业危害。
有很多更安全的地方可以骑摩托车，但这对公路赛车手来说似乎很无聊和乏味。与微小的车道相比，电路感觉像高速公路，所以很多人都在成长。最重要的是安全问题让赛车界感到不安，因为他们的运动通常只会在事情出错时成为头条新闻。
In the damp Portstewart morning air, these everyday heroes sit and anxiously wait for the signal to race.
Disciples of the sport have long since travelled to these races, with rider nationalities becoming broader with each passing year. It was easy to spot the French or Spanish riders as they didn’t particularly take too favourably to the cold of a miserable Irish morning.
在潮湿的Portstewart早晨的空气中，这些日常英雄坐下来，焦急地等待信号竞赛。
这项运动的门徒早就走访了这些比赛，骑手的国籍每年都会变得更加广泛。很容易发现法国或西班牙的骑手，因为他们并没有特别喜欢寒冷的爱尔兰早晨。
All around, there are reminders of the dangers. No other sport in the world sends competitors off with a chase rider strapped with donated blood stock and other medical supplies following them.
四周都有危险的提醒。世界上没有任何其他运动能够让一个追逐骑手的运动员与捐赠的血液和其他医疗用品捆绑在一起。
CHAPTER THREE
Getting Ready To Race
准备比赛
The nature of road racing circuits is sort of given away in the title.
Racing, on the public road.
The same road that is full of traffic and people at 9.55am, is suddenly a racetrack at 10.00am. Traffic cleared, the transformation process can begin. Hundreds of cones, deployed to stop parking, must be retrieved, along what soon becomes the grid and start line.
公路赛道的性质在标题中有所体现。
赛车，在公共道路上。
上午9点15分，同样的道路充满了交通和人们，在上午10点突然变成了赛马场。流量清除，转换过程可以开始。必须检索数百个停止停车的锥体，沿着很快成为电网和起跑线。
Marshals don sweeping brushes to clear debris, while crews hurriedly emerge from the paddock with their competition machines. Engine notes become louder as the countdown gets ever smaller. Forty-five minutes from open road to start time of race one, there is no hanging about.
Marshals不会用清扫刷清除碎片，而工作人员则用竞争机器急忙从围场中出来。随着倒计时变得越来越小，发动机音符越来越响亮。从开阔的道路开始45分钟到第一场比赛的开始时间，没有任何悬挂。
The North West 200 circuit, located as you likely guessed in the north-west of Northern Ireland, is a 8.97-mile (14.4km) triangle loop that connects the towns of Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine.
The opening section along the coast is tight and technical, while the rest consists of long, flat-out straights interceded only by a few hairpins and a turn around a roundabout.
您可能在北爱尔兰西北部猜测的西北200号赛道是一个8.97英里（14.4公里）的三角形环路，连接波特拉什，斯图尔特港和科尔雷恩等城镇。
沿海岸的开放部分是紧凑和技术性的，而其余部分由长而扁平的直道组成，只有少数发夹和环形交叉口转弯。
Celebrating 90 years in 2019, the North West 200 is a mammoth event for the region, with massive crowds flocking to fill grandstands and ditches right around the triangle.
Touching well over 200mph (321km/h) down roads lined by tress and barbed wire fences, the action is frantic. Watching along the real quick sections requires the aid of live streams and commentary to keep abreast of what is going on, but through the tighter coast road it’s easier to follow the action.
在2019年庆祝90年，西北200是该地区的一个巨大的事件，大量的人群聚集在三角形的正面看台和沟渠。
这条动作非常紧张，行驶时间超过200英里/小时（321公里/小时），沿着树木和带刺铁丝网围起来。沿着真实的快速部分观看需要现场直播和评论的帮助以及时了解正在发生的事情，但通过更紧凑的海岸道路，更容易遵循行动。
