Joined
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181 Posts
Figured I'd get this section of the forum & share my latest track wreck tale.
Second to last race weekend of the year was kind of a crappy one... Rain during my first race and I ended up being late to the grid for my second cuz I forgot to put my transponder on my bike... I lined up on hot-pit instead of the proper starting grid for the start and got released after everyone else crossed the start/finish line. I blast to the end of pit row and slip into line behind the last place racer going into turn 2.
The track was still a little damp and cold from the rain and my tires were cold as well since I made a last minute decision to go from rains to DOT's so I didn't put warmers on them. I tried to keep the lateral momentum to a minimum untill I gave the tires enough time to warm up a couple laps into the race. I was doing pretty well and hadn't felt a single slip, slide or shimmy and was making up some pretty good ground in the process, passing a backmarker here or there.
By this time the racing line was quite dry and my tires were getting warm so I put my head down and caught up to two of my good friends and rivals, Tom and Brendan. On lap 3 I was right behind them and got a good drive out of turn 12, pulled even with Brendan by the start/finish line and JUUUUSSSST passed Tom up the inside going into turn 1. I kept my head down & rode under the assumption that they were RIGHT on my rear tire.
Exiting the last turn onto the straight away I got a pretty good drive and was just about full throttle w/ my knee still on the ground. At which point I felt the front tire quite suddenly and unexpectedly wash out from under me, followed by the rear. The front came back, as did the rear while I kept the throttle almost pinned, but as quickly as the rear snapped back and the thought "maybe I can save it" entered my mind, it slid back out, further than the first time, grabbed, snapped back & launched me into the air.
As I hit the ground I immediately thought "well, i'm about to get run over by Tom and Brendan" thinking they were right behind me and braced for impact trying to stay as low as possible. But as I tumbled I briefly looked back and saw turn 12 with no one in sight. I tumbled and slid for another 50-100 feet or so, came to a stop, looked back and THEN Tom and Brendan came around the corner. I had put what I think was a good 4-5 seconds on them in one lap... I was quite suprised.
They passed around either side of me w/o any problems as there was plenty of time for them to see me and turn 12 is a relatively slow speed corner. I tried to stand up & immediately dropped back to the ground from the pain in my hip and knee. My whole leg was in pain from the impact & was pretty much useless at the moment because of shock. I crawled my way off the track surface towards pit lane which was right next to me and the paramedics were at my side to pick me up and carry me to the infirmary literally within seconds as one of the ambulances is stationed right there & they saw it all happen.
I got checked out "ok", no broken bones or anything that I know of, just a VERY sore and bruised hip, knee and shoulder. Man, you guys shoulda seen the bruising on my knee and hip, it turned all sorts of cool colors during the next two weeks. Still hurts if i sit down for a long time and get up... same w/ my shoulder if i sleep on it wrong but I'll live. It's only been 3 weeks since the crash.
Anyway, after I got checked out & returned to all my friends, they told me there was a synthetic oil spill in turn 12 that they had tried to clean up two races before that I wasn't aware of. The track officials/workers do a damn good job of cleaning up this stuff, but synthetic oil is tough to get completely dried up and although I'm sure it wasn't the sole cause, I have no doubt that it helped contribute to my unexpected flight.
The bike was pretty much undamaged other than cosmetics, a bent rearset, bent exhaust and a crossed up front end... everything was bent back into shape and the front end squared back up after I loostened everything up and realigned everything.
Factors that contributed:
Improper pressures - they were a little too high for the conditions, but only by a lb or so, nothing too major but a POSSIBLE factor.
Started out with a "hot head" - kinda ticked off that I forgot my transponder but my head got clear & straight after I got on track.
Damp and cool track conditions - the track was 90% dry, but still a little cool.
Synthetic Oil Slick - I was unaware of any oil on the track surface but have no doubt it was there and contributed to the crash.
I in no way blame the track, cornerworkers or clean-up crew... that some tough stuff to completely clean up. Ultimately it is up to me, the rider, to make sure that the track is clear and to be aware of any substances on the track that may create a hazzard.
... oh, and I still think it's impossible to highside an EX500
Second to last race weekend of the year was kind of a crappy one... Rain during my first race and I ended up being late to the grid for my second cuz I forgot to put my transponder on my bike... I lined up on hot-pit instead of the proper starting grid for the start and got released after everyone else crossed the start/finish line. I blast to the end of pit row and slip into line behind the last place racer going into turn 2.
The track was still a little damp and cold from the rain and my tires were cold as well since I made a last minute decision to go from rains to DOT's so I didn't put warmers on them. I tried to keep the lateral momentum to a minimum untill I gave the tires enough time to warm up a couple laps into the race. I was doing pretty well and hadn't felt a single slip, slide or shimmy and was making up some pretty good ground in the process, passing a backmarker here or there.
By this time the racing line was quite dry and my tires were getting warm so I put my head down and caught up to two of my good friends and rivals, Tom and Brendan. On lap 3 I was right behind them and got a good drive out of turn 12, pulled even with Brendan by the start/finish line and JUUUUSSSST passed Tom up the inside going into turn 1. I kept my head down & rode under the assumption that they were RIGHT on my rear tire.
Exiting the last turn onto the straight away I got a pretty good drive and was just about full throttle w/ my knee still on the ground. At which point I felt the front tire quite suddenly and unexpectedly wash out from under me, followed by the rear. The front came back, as did the rear while I kept the throttle almost pinned, but as quickly as the rear snapped back and the thought "maybe I can save it" entered my mind, it slid back out, further than the first time, grabbed, snapped back & launched me into the air.
As I hit the ground I immediately thought "well, i'm about to get run over by Tom and Brendan" thinking they were right behind me and braced for impact trying to stay as low as possible. But as I tumbled I briefly looked back and saw turn 12 with no one in sight. I tumbled and slid for another 50-100 feet or so, came to a stop, looked back and THEN Tom and Brendan came around the corner. I had put what I think was a good 4-5 seconds on them in one lap... I was quite suprised.
They passed around either side of me w/o any problems as there was plenty of time for them to see me and turn 12 is a relatively slow speed corner. I tried to stand up & immediately dropped back to the ground from the pain in my hip and knee. My whole leg was in pain from the impact & was pretty much useless at the moment because of shock. I crawled my way off the track surface towards pit lane which was right next to me and the paramedics were at my side to pick me up and carry me to the infirmary literally within seconds as one of the ambulances is stationed right there & they saw it all happen.
I got checked out "ok", no broken bones or anything that I know of, just a VERY sore and bruised hip, knee and shoulder. Man, you guys shoulda seen the bruising on my knee and hip, it turned all sorts of cool colors during the next two weeks. Still hurts if i sit down for a long time and get up... same w/ my shoulder if i sleep on it wrong but I'll live. It's only been 3 weeks since the crash.
Anyway, after I got checked out & returned to all my friends, they told me there was a synthetic oil spill in turn 12 that they had tried to clean up two races before that I wasn't aware of. The track officials/workers do a damn good job of cleaning up this stuff, but synthetic oil is tough to get completely dried up and although I'm sure it wasn't the sole cause, I have no doubt that it helped contribute to my unexpected flight.
The bike was pretty much undamaged other than cosmetics, a bent rearset, bent exhaust and a crossed up front end... everything was bent back into shape and the front end squared back up after I loostened everything up and realigned everything.
Factors that contributed:
Improper pressures - they were a little too high for the conditions, but only by a lb or so, nothing too major but a POSSIBLE factor.
Started out with a "hot head" - kinda ticked off that I forgot my transponder but my head got clear & straight after I got on track.
Damp and cool track conditions - the track was 90% dry, but still a little cool.
Synthetic Oil Slick - I was unaware of any oil on the track surface but have no doubt it was there and contributed to the crash.
I in no way blame the track, cornerworkers or clean-up crew... that some tough stuff to completely clean up. Ultimately it is up to me, the rider, to make sure that the track is clear and to be aware of any substances on the track that may create a hazzard.
... oh, and I still think it's impossible to highside an EX500
