Does anyone know how Alex Locker is doing? Here's hoping he is OK and gets back to racing with us soon! Best wishes to him and his family!!!
First report was a sky is falling report,horrible description of his injury's....at the end of the day we were told he was on his way home after they popped his shoulder back into place...that's about all I know....I hope the latter is the case...
Hey guys, actually just got home from hospital 10 minutes ago.
-Fractured right Scapula
-30 cm laceration on right forearm that required surgery for cleanup and stitches
-fractured left Tibia
-bruised left ribs
-badly bitten tongue
But I'm alive and having a yard sale soon!
I heard there was oil on the track but am curious what the situation really was; did anyone see me go down?
We heard that a bike did put oil down all over a good portion of the track, not sure who it was though. You and several other bikes went down - Kollin rode by just after it happened and saw you laying there face down; he was very concerned. So glad you weren't more seriously hurt - hope you heal up fast! (written by Lisa Kozik)
There ya' have it...information changes in the telling...glad it wasn't worse,actually 4 bikes went down in the oil in T-2...
So can you talk? This was kind of ironic after your post on Chicagolandsportbikes but very unfortunate since you were essentially a sitting duck hitting fresh/hot oil.
Hope you recovery quickly and well.
crashing sux - hospitals make me anxious to leave and oh did I say crashing sux?
Wow. Not that there's a "good" place to crash....but 2 isn't one of them!
Hope everyone involved heals quick!
Quote from: SV88 on August 20, 2012, 07:47:47 PM
So can you talk? This was kind of ironic after your post on Chicagolandsportbikes but very unfortunate since you were essentially a sitting duck hitting fresh/hot oil.
Hope you recovery quickly and well.
Thanks for the kind words everyone. I can talk fine but the last 1/2" of my tounge is purple and is going to be the worst "bit my tongue" incident ever. Yeah it is ironic. It was my last session and I really was not pushing hard. I felt comfortable with my progress for the day and was really out there to just get seat time, not trying to improve laptimes or anything.
Stay safe out there.
Well glad to hear you're ok... kinda. Heal up. Crashing sucks without a doubt.
Glad to hear you will be OK.
I know a few people who swear by this supplement to help broken bones.
http://www.seacoast.com/maximum-bone-aid/seacoast-vitamins/180-tabs/p803 (http://www.seacoast.com/maximum-bone-aid/seacoast-vitamins/180-tabs/p803)
Glad to hear that you will be OK.
I was in the session right after they cleaned up the oil. There was quick dry from the exit of T1 all the way to the bus stop on the racing line. Needless to say there was a lot of oil on the track to make a bad situation.
Hey Alex glad to see you're alive! How was the helicopter ride? I snapped a few pics of it if you want em ::)
Quote from: alocker on August 20, 2012, 04:47:37 PM
I heard there was oil on the track but am curious what the situation really was; did anyone see me go down?
I was the 2nd bike behind you when you crashed and saw the whole thing. Luckily I was far eneough back that I had time to check up and avoid all the carnage. Your crash was the worst one I've ever seen.
The low down: Someone (not sure who) blew there bike up in turn 7 and trailed oil all the way until the first left hander before 5, after the bus stop. And it was on the race line pretty much the whole way. :wtf: I didnt even know there was oil on the track until I pulled into the pits on the red flag and someone told me.
Anyway, theres nothing you could have done to prevent the crash. You hit the oil in 2 and lost it. There was also a red R6 directly behind you that lost it a sec or two after you did in the same spot. You went down and it looked like the bike hit the wall first ,then you. It threw the fence padding way up in the air and created a huge dust cloud. Crap was flying everywhere. You and the bike bounced off pretty hard and you kinda spun back towards the outside of the track. The red R6 hit the wall 10 feet behind where you hit. His bike was TOTALED. Luckily he wasnt injured too badly from what I was told. Just a forearm gash. After turn 2 there were a few more bikes that went down as well, though not as seriously. They threw the red flag by the time I entered 3.
I need to start running my Go-pro during practice haha! Speaking of I heard yours might have been on your bike...did you get video? If so, post!
Quote from: alocker on August 20, 2012, 04:47:37 PM
But I'm alive and having a yard sale soon!
You already had a yard sale in turn 2! Having another already?? lol
Heal up quick dude!!! :thumb:
This also works good
https://ethicalnutrients.mymetagenics.com/store/view/product/608
Ah, whadda YOU know about broken bones, Dan!? :P
Quote from: supercarl on August 21, 2012, 03:42:03 PM
Anyway, theres nothing you could have done to prevent the crash. You hit the oil in 2 and lost it. There was also a red R6 directly behind you that lost it a sec or two after you did in the same spot. You went down and it looked like the bike hit the wall first ,then you. It threw the fence padding way up in the air and created a huge dust cloud. Crap was flying everywhere. You and the bike bounced off pretty hard and you kinda spun back towards the outside of the track. The red R6 hit the wall 10 feet behind where you hit. His bike was TOTALED. Luckily he wasnt injured too badly from what I was told. Just a forearm gash. After turn 2 there were a few more bikes that went down as well, though not as seriously. They threw the red flag by the time I entered 3.
SuperCarl - I'm Tad - Red R6 #818 - or least what's left of it.
I appreciate the detail you provided, but I'll ask, are you certain? Although I wasn't looking at the air fence as I went into turn 2, I thought/think I was the first bike to go down. I could be wrong based on what you just wrote though. My bike and I ended up on the turn 3 side of the air fence - I didn't think that either me or my bike hit the fence. Alex's bike was actually in the fence about mid-way lengthwise. I didn't lose consciousness at all and remember tumbling and finally coming to a stop in the middle of the field past the air fence. When I looked back to the corner, I saw a GSX-R heading right towards me - the bike/rider were both upright and I assume they hit the oil, saved it, and rode it out through the grass towards the turn 3 cornerworker. When I saw the bike heading in my direction, I stood up, and hurdled the armco barrier to get the hell out of the way. I remember seeing at least 2 more bikes go down as I looked back.
Help me piece this together if you can - are you certain that I went down after Alex? Did I or my bike hit the air fence?
I will say one thing - the EMTs were fantastic. It felt like they were on site seconds later. They came right over to me, and I pointed them back to Alex as I was up and walking around. Overall, they did a great job and my thanks goes out to them.
I saw Alex's wife in the ER later that evening, as well as Don (316). I couldn't have been happier to hear that Alex was OK. My injuries are pretty minor - big gash, and a few bone fragments broke off my elbow but were surgically removed yesterday. You won't hear me complain about this one.
Tad #818
Quote from: tadgralewski on August 22, 2012, 09:38:51 AM
SuperCarl - I'm Tad - Red R6 #818 - or least what's left of it.
I appreciate the detail you provided, but I'll ask, are you certain? Although I wasn't looking at the air fence as I went into turn 2, I thought/think I was the first bike to go down. I could be wrong based on what you just wrote though. My bike and I ended up on the turn 3 side of the air fence - I didn't think that either me or my bike hit the fence. Alex's bike was actually in the fence about mid-way lengthwise. I didn't lose consciousness at all and remember tumbling and finally coming to a stop in the middle of the field past the air fence. When I looked back to the corner, I saw a GSX-R heading right towards me - the bike/rider were both upright and I assume they hit the oil, saved it, and rode it out through the grass towards the turn 3 cornerworker. When I saw the bike heading in my direction, I stood up, and hurdled the armco barrier to get the hell out of the way. I remember seeing at least 2 more bikes go down as I looked back.
Help me piece this together if you can - are you certain that I went down after Alex? Did I or my bike hit the air fence?
I will say one thing - the EMTs were fantastic. It felt like they were on site seconds later. They came right over to me, and I pointed them back to Alex as I was up and walking around. Overall, they did a great job and my thanks goes out to them.
I saw Alex's wife in the ER later that evening, as well as Don (316). I couldn't have been happier to hear that Alex was OK. My injuries are pretty minor - big gash, and a few bone fragments broke off my elbow but were surgically removed yesterday. You won't hear me complain about this one.
Tad #818
Wow dude! I appreciate your selflessness when it came down to getting help from the EMT's. Good to hear you got fixed up and are healing ok. I am off to the orthopedic surgeon today to see how bad my shoulder really is. I think it might have been under diagnosed as I still have pretty much zero mobility.
Shout out to Don who was chatting with me in the ER. It was very comforting knowing that I did not cause harm to other riders and the oil on the track was the likely cause for my crash. This really helped my attitude and Don should be commended for his charity.
Quote from: alocker on August 22, 2012, 09:53:47 AM
Wow dude! I appreciate your selflessness when it came down to getting help from the EMT's. Good to hear you got fixed up and are healing ok. I am off to the orthopedic surgeon today to see how bad my shoulder really is. I think it might have been under diagnosed as I still have pretty much zero mobility.
You wouldn't remember, but I came over and sat on the armco with you for a couple minutes as the EMTs checked you out. I did point them towards you, but that wasn't selflessness, it was just common sense. I was up and walking around - you weren't. When the second ambulance arrived, they pulled me away to take care of me. Again, I think they did a fantastic job, and I'm glad that you are relatively OK, even though it sounds like a long recovery in front of you. Heal quick, and take care.
Tad
So Tad, you had bone fragments and gravel in your arm? crazy.
Alex, thanks for the update. It all sounds horrible really. I haven't looked yet, but I was running my Gopro when I passed through the crash zone. You sure blew the wall apart! I'll take a look and post up a clip if it's worth anything. I sure hope you have some good pain pills and start feeling better soon. I wouldn't be surprised by zero mobility right now considering what happened. Be patient and take care of yourself!
Kurt
Ortho said no surgery. Yay!
I have decent meds but night time sucks. I can only sleep maybe 2.5 hours before I have to get up and move around since I can really only lie in one position. I would be interested in the video if you could find it. I don't remember shit and I'm kinda glad for it but a little curious now.
Recovery is going better than expected. I am officially retired from road racing. I know some of you guys know my setup. If there is anything you are interested in purchasing, PM me. It will probably be a few weeks before I break everything down into a sale ad.
Alex, if you want to stay involved with racing, try cornerworking. We all know they could use more people.
Quote from: blueracerX on August 22, 2012, 03:24:01 PM
So Tad, you had bone fragments and gravel in your arm? crazy.
Kurt - no, what they thought might be stones/pebbles turned out to be bone fragments - very small ones from the back of the elbow. Now that the othopedic doc removed them, the arm feels much better.
And thanks again for hooking up my trailer for me late Saturday night - I really appreciated the help.
Tad
Quote from: tadgralewski on August 22, 2012, 09:38:51 AM
SuperCarl - I'm Tad - Red R6 #818 - or least what's left of it.
I appreciate the detail you provided, but I'll ask, are you certain? Although I wasn't looking at the air fence as I went into turn 2, I thought/think I was the first bike to go down. I could be wrong based on what you just wrote though. My bike and I ended up on the turn 3 side of the air fence - I didn't think that either me or my bike hit the fence. Alex's bike was actually in the fence about mid-way lengthwise. I didn't lose consciousness at all and remember tumbling and finally coming to a stop in the middle of the field past the air fence. When I looked back to the corner, I saw a GSX-R heading right towards me - the bike/rider were both upright and I assume they hit the oil, saved it, and rode it out through the grass towards the turn 3 cornerworker. When I saw the bike heading in my direction, I stood up, and hurdled the armco barrier to get the hell out of the way. I remember seeing at least 2 more bikes go down as I looked back.
Hey Tad- After hearing your description, I may have remembered the crash wrong afterall. ::) I cant say for certain. I was kind of far away (just had exited one and was straight up heading to 2) so I may have just seen it wrong too. I seem to remember that there were only two bikes directly in front of me. One of which was alex. Saw his huge crash into the wall for sure. Thought he went down first but I could be wrong. Its hard to remember without my groPro on :biggrin: Maybe some bike crashed after me too? I'm not sure. Everything happened so fast. :ahhh:
If you dont think you hit the fence, did another bike hit the fence maybe? I couldve just mistaken you for someone else. I was pretty focused on Locker since it was a huge crash and I didnt see the other rider too well. I just assumed it was you based on what others told me in the pits and how messed up your bike was. After I came out of two I saw two more riders off in the grass on the right of the track and one towards the left side of the track. One of the riders on the right proceeded to crash in the grass and slide into the middle of 3. That was RIGHT in front of me. Just missed him. Luckily he got up quick and ran out of danger.
So to answer your question...I can't really say for certain. I remember a bike going down behind alex, but I'm not sure if it was you or not. I also remember that bike hitting the airfence. Again, not sure if it was you or someone else though. And this is all from my memory, which has never been to accurate to begin with lol.
Glad to hear confirmation that you not in too bad of shape though! Couldve been much worse for sure. Just ask your bike lol. Hope you can get it fixed/replaced and you heal up soon!
And yes, anyone with footage of the accident or aftermath should post it. I'd love to see some more detail.
Alex- Sorry to hear you are retired, but I hope to see you out at the track spectating or corner working sometime :) Will you be heading to the banquet this year? I think you have eneough points to place and maybe even win a couple classes still. Could be wrong tho.
Quote from: supercarl on August 23, 2012, 08:04:59 AM
Alex- Sorry to hear you are retired, but I hope to see you out at the track spectating or corner working sometime :) Will you be heading to the banquet this year? I think you have eneough points to place and maybe even win a couple classes still. Could be wrong tho.
A few days back I wasn't interested in seeing video of the crash, but after hearing more about it I want to see it. I think Kurt is trying to dig some up.
I hope they have a banquet because I will attend. The only way I would win class is if Erdmann does not race the last 2 SS races and I certainly don't expect nor want him to do that. He has proven that this in not a game of just outright speed and has been very consistent.
Thanks for the pics too. My 3 yr old instantly said "I want to go on that". I decided not to explain how to get a ride on one.
Now my words of advice.
Bite the bullet and spend the dough on gear. One Ortho Dr. could not believe my Tibia was fractured without totally destroying my ankle. He said in almost all cases where my fracture was they go together. Alpinestars Supertech R likely saved me a bunch of pain and cash.
If you remove any single component from the equation it could have resulted in much more serious injuries.
Finally, good old Blackhawk Farms Turn 2. We all think about it and we all say "won't happen to me". At least that's what I though until the oil which seems to be the number one cause for crashes there. I purpose a ramp built right before the armco that shoots the rider and bike into a giant safety net then they fall into one of those gymnastics pits filled with foam blocks. This would not disturb any of the wetlands and would make for some great flying action shots.
Glad to hear you are (mostly) in one piece Alex, we heard the chopper coming that day and knew something was pretty bad.
Talked to one of the gents that went down after you in the oil that evening - basically said the apex at T2 was where he lost it and he ended up sitting in the middle of the track at the entrance to T3....
Quote from: alocker on August 23, 2012, 09:29:58 AM
A few days back I wasn't interested in seeing video of the crash, but after hearing more about it I want to see it. I think Kurt is trying to dig some up.
I hope they have a banquet because I will attend. The only way I would win class is if Erdmann does not race the last 2 SS races and I certainly don't expect nor want him to do that. He has proven that this in not a game of just outright speed and has been very consistent.
Thanks for the pics too. My 3 yr old instantly said "I want to go on that". I decided not to explain how to get a ride on one.
Now my words of advice.
Bite the bullet and spend the dough on gear. One Ortho Dr. could not believe my Tibia was fractured without totally destroying my ankle. He said in almost all cases where my fracture was they go together. Alpinestars Supertech R likely saved me a bunch of pain and cash.
If you remove any single component from the equation it could have resulted in much more serious injuries.
Finally, good old Blackhawk Farms Turn 2. We all think about it and we all say "won't happen to me". At least that's what I though until the oil which seems to be the number one cause for crashes there. I purpose a ramp built right before the armco that shoots the rider and bike into a giant safety net then they fall into one of those gymnastics pits filled with foam blocks. This would not disturb any of the wetlands and would make for some great flying action shots.
Cool I hope to see you at the banquet. I'm sure you'll at least podium in a few classes. I also nominate you for the crash of the year award. Ive never been to a banquet before, but if they don't have this award they need to start it this year!
No problem on the pics. Hopefully this was a one time only whirly bird ride.
+1 on good gear too! I have A-star stuff and I love it. Great crash protection as you unwillingly helped prove. Spending more money on good gear = saving more money on hospital visits.
+1000000000000 on the turn 2 ramp/net/foam pit idea! Safe for racers and more enjoyable for spectators. I'll even put down an initial $20 spot for the Alex Locker Racing Ramp Safety System. Dig deep CCS racers! If enough of us donate we can have this brilliant, industry changing, system implemented on turn 2!!
+1 on the ramp/foam pit idea!
Alex, I posted a clip to youtube of the aftermath. It has a short clip in real time (red flag pace) then I slowed it to 10% to make it easier to pause for details. You can see the oil trail in T2.
http://youtu.be/P6g46Y0maeA
Tad, I was glad I could help you out Saturday night. Maybe one good thing about bone chips vs gravel in your arm is less risk of infection from dirty gravel. Either way, that sucks a lot.
Kurt
Thanks Kurt.
You really get a good sense of how close that wall is when the Airfence isnt perfectly in line. Imagine if someone crashed right behind me and and rolled into the spot of airfence I already cleared!
Should air fences blow apart like that?
Alex, it's hard to see in the video, but I remember going by thinking that the tires were all messed up too. I can't imagine a second bike hitting there without the air fence and all the tires in the right place.
I noticed later that there was a bunch of clearing done behind the T2 wall as it was dozed down to dirt. Is the track getting ready to move that all back?
For what is worth. I heard that the wall in T2 will be removed after this season. Don't quote me but that is what I have heard. It is all approved already I was told.
Hey all - after watching the video, and seeing supercarl's response, I'm back to thinking that I was the first through. If you look in the video, the heap of metal that was my R6 is pretty far away from the air fence - it's 1/3 of the way to turn 3. In turn 3 is bike # 76. That's the bike that I saw coming towards me after I stopped rolling, causing me to jump over the armco to get out of the line of fire.
I am going with supercarl's theory that there was a second bike that hit the air fence. When the EMTs arrived, I went over to the air fence area and leaned against the armco with Alex. There was a big enough gap in the air fence for both of us to have plenty of room to stand there. Then I remember the following:
One of the cornerworkers pulled back part of the air fence, and there was a bike sitting on top of part of the air fence - if I'm not mistaken, there is a top half and a bottom half to the air fence and this bike (I assume it was Alex's) was sandwiched in between. Take that with a grain of salt, as I was in shock at the time.
In the video, there is a second bike that is clearly laying on it's side in the grass in front of the air fence. The cornerworker directed the other workers to "pull the rest of the air fence back to make sure nobody else is stuck back there." Nobody was.
By my count, that's 5 bikes - can we get a role call:
818 - Tad - ended up beyond the air fence towards turn 3
144 - Alex - ended up in the air fence
76 - ended up in turn 3 after riding it out through the grass
Green bike - unknown number - on the inside of turn 2
Mystery bike, laying on it's side by the air fence. If this person confirms, then I think we know what happened, and this would help me rest a little easier. If I did hit the air fence, then I'm not remembering things correctly.
Thanks also to everyone for talking through this. I won't speak for anyone else, but it's helping me put a little closure on the event - or maybe it's the control freak in me just wanting to make sure I know what happened. Either way, thanks for the discourse.
Tad
#818
Hey guys I was right behind Alex when he went down. As soon as I saw him tuck I stood it up a bit. I felt a little wobble from where the oil was and before I knew it I was in the grass. I had a hard time slowing it down in the grass and ended up laying it down and sliding onto the track in T3. From what I was able to piece together from two other friends involved was the first bike was an R6 that high sided. I assume that was bike 818. The next bike was my friend Jeremy on 513. He witnessed the high side happening and stood it up into the grass and remained upright. Another friend Jeff on 219 low sided on the oil and slid up the track toward T3. He was the green bike on the left. I think there was another bike that went down but I'm not sure who it was. Then Alex followed by me. I'm glad everybody is ok. That was some scary shit.
So to review bikes involved as far as I know:
818 Tad
513 Jeremy
219 Jeff
454 Alex
79 Nolan
??? possibly one more bike
??? bike that laid the oil down
I'll tell Jeff and Jeremy to post up what they saw to help piece it all together.
well.. i must say i'm glad that alex is ok, last year a group of friends got hurt in a deja vu type accident.
This was my view.. Jeremy, myself & my buddy mike were all out in a train just doing laps, on my second lap i remember the guy standing in 4 on the wall with his bike (gsxr w/ stars on the tail). I thought nothing of it and we just kept on moving, get down the front straight and the red r6 pits out, the whole group stayed at speed & once the red bike was past the kink in 2 he highsided pretty bad, pieces flying everywhere, Jeremy somehow picked the straight through the grass line and avoided the guy & bike, i chose the normal line through 2 and stayed at speed & planned on throwing an arm up in 3 because i knew the session would be red flagged, no sooner than i turned in i was on the deck, somehow my bike kept the direction of the turn and didn't slide into the wall, i was sliding forward towards turn 3 and somehow spun around only to watch alex slam the airfence/wall & i also caught a group of bikes heading straight towards me, i was thinking to myself i really hope none of those guys hit what i hit, next came Nolan flying through the grass & i finally stopped sliding, as soon as the 4 bikes passed me and none other were coming i jumped up and ran to the grass on the left only to see that nolan's bike was on track and he was getting up, he picked up his bike and rode off as did i, i stopped at the corner station and told him something was on track and that i knew it for sure because i didn't touch a single lever, control etc..
I'm extremely thankful to be unharmed w/o even a bruise from this as turn 2 crashes at blackhawk don't normally end well. They are removing alot of trees over there ( i gave them some hillbilly tips on how to get rid of a stump ;) ) but i believe its long overdue
Thanks for the video post Kurt! Good footage to confirm a few things about the crash. I also saw the clearing behind 2 and was wondering the same thing myself. Hopefully they do get rid of that wall. It would be much safer.
Tad- I agree with you. You must have gone down and not hit the wall while some other bike hit it. Nolan's roll call post seems like it has every bike associated with the crash. the "??? posibly one more bike" I'm sure his the 2nd guy I saw hit the wall. Not sure of his name/number though. Also unsure of the name/number of the blown up bike, but i know a couple people at the track know who he was. If we can get confirmation on those two bikes I think we'll have a pretty detailed account of what happened.
So to try and sum it up one more time...
818 Tad - Highsided after turn two into the grass. Really messed up Red R6. First crash I believe.
513 Jeremy - Went wide on the exit of 2 into the grass. Rode it out. No crash
79 Nolan - Slipped on oil and went wide on the exit of 2. Crashed in grass and slid into enterance of 3.
219 Jeff - Low sided in 2 and slid to the left side of the track
454 Alex - Major highside and hit the wall in turn 2. Airflighted out.
??? Unk bike 1 - Believed to have crashed into turn 2 wall behind Alex
??? Unk bike 2 - laid the oil down to cause crash. Pulled off into left hand turn before 5. Think its called 4b. Was told he was pitted accross from the silo on the straight. or around that area somewhere.
Is that everyone and the general consensus of what happened so far?
This is a great example of why I don't like BHF. There are enough risks in racing, there are just too many places on that track where the walls are too darn close. Air fence does not eliminate the problem.
George
Quote from: supercarl on August 24, 2012, 09:48:09 AM
Thanks for the video post Kurt! Good footage to confirm a few things about the crash. I also saw the clearing behind 2 and was wondering the same thing myself. Hopefully they do get rid of that wall. It would be much safer.
Tad- I agree with you. You must have gone down and not hit the wall while some other bike hit it. Nolan's roll call post seems like it has every bike associated with the crash. the "??? posibly one more bike" I'm sure his the 2nd guy I saw hit the wall. Not sure of his name/number though. Also unsure of the name/number of the blown up bike, but i know a couple people at the track know who he was. If we can get confirmation on those two bikes I think we'll have a pretty detailed account of what happened.
So to try and sum it up one more time...
818 Tad - Highsided after turn two into the grass. Really messed up Red R6. First crash I believe.
513 Jeremy - Went wide on the exit of 2 into the grass. Rode it out. No crash
79 Nolan - Slipped on oil and went wide on the exit of 2. Crashed in grass and slid into enterance of 3.
219 Jeff - Low sided in 2 and slid to the left side of the track
454 Alex - Major highside and hit the wall in turn 2. Airflighted out.
??? Unk bike 1 - Believed to have crashed into turn 2 wall behind Alex
??? Unk bike 2 - laid the oil down to cause crash. Pulled off into left hand turn before 5. Think its called 4b. Was told he was pitted accross from the silo on the straight. or around that area somewhere.
Is that everyone and the general consensus of what happened so far?
I thought 5 ppl crashed as well, but i was told 4 by a ccs official, i new that the order of crash was this
#1: 818 (Tadd)
#2: 219 (myself)
#3: 454 (alex)
#4: 79 (Nolan)
I wasn't aware of anyone else, but i could be wrong
Quote from: j_fuggin_t on August 24, 2012, 12:02:18 PM
I thought 5 ppl crashed as well, but i was told 4 by a ccs official, i new that the order of crash was this
#1: 818 (Tadd)
#2: 219 (myself)
#3: 454 (alex)
#4: 79 (Nolan)
I wasn't aware of anyone else, but i could be wrong
JT - thanks for your perspective, and I think this puts it to rest for me. You are absolutely right I was on my out lap when I highsided. I was certain I was the first to go down in the oil...then I wasn't sure...then I was concerned I didn't remember something correctly...now I'm back to square one. I do appreciate the detailed info so that I can wrap this up in my head and move forward.
Sorry to hear that you were involved in this, and thank your friend Jeremy for not running me over. I appreciate such little things.
I think that's the end of it - again, thanks to all of you for helping walk through this. I hope everyone heals quickly.
Tad
#818
Alex, I haven't wanted to reply to this thread yet. I ride the 737 bike and while we only met in person last CCS weekend we've raced a few weekends together. I was shocked to hear about your crash yet glad to hear it wasn't as bad as first reports. I hope you're recovery is quick!! I love the fact that there's people to look after you if the worst happens!
JP
Quote from: tadgralewski on August 24, 2012, 10:56:32 PM
JT - thanks for your perspective, and I think this puts it to rest for me. You are absolutely right I was on my out lap when I highsided. I was certain I was the first to go down in the oil...then I wasn't sure...then I was concerned I didn't remember something correctly...now I'm back to square one. I do appreciate the detailed info so that I can wrap this up in my head and move forward.
Sorry to hear that you were involved in this, and thank your friend Jeremy for not running me over. I appreciate such little things.
I think that's the end of it - again, thanks to all of you for helping walk through this. I hope everyone heals quickly.
Tad
#818
No worries, yes it sucks that any of us went down due to oil but really, being mad or upset about it does reverse Alex's injuries or reverse the damage done on our machines.
Jeremy made a quick decision and I planned on it but 3 bikes in the grass all at once didn't seem smart at the speed so I chose the normal line.
Not many ppl crash in 2 and are able to walk away so I will take it as a win.
Quote from: flyboy75 on August 25, 2012, 01:14:53 AM
Alex, I haven't wanted to reply to this thread yet. I ride the 737 bike and while we only met in person last CCS weekend we've raced a few weekends together. I was shocked to hear about your crash yet glad to hear it wasn't as bad as first reports. I hope you're recovery is quick!! I love the fact that there's people to look after you if the worst happens!
JP
I remember you. We were just getting going this season. Too bad Blackhawk really hates me. 4 weekends resulting in 4 crashes. I really wanted at least one championship. I was in position if I just finished the last 3 SS races I would have won. The 3rd crash actually scared me enough that I almost did not come back. I would consider coming back now but I cannot do it to my family. This last crash has really caused some stress and opened my eyes to how much and how many people actually care for my well being. This is a good thing but I must do the right thing.
I'm really wondering how the Eff I did not see everyone down in front of me. I was at maybe 75% but I guess I was not looking far enough ahead.
Since everyone is so concerned about me, how about some donations to cover my heli ride? Totally kidding,but I really hope my insurance does not totally reject it. I will however post the cost just so everyone knows the going rate for a 5 minute medivac.
I'm the Suzuki with stars on the tail that oiled the track. I feel freakin terrible. From what I've read here it sounds like Alex is doing as well as he can be. I hope your injuries aren't career ending.
Yesterday 8/25/2012 I was at the Superbikers 2 Supermoto charity race at the Washington County Fair Grounds. I started talking about the crash and one of the racers said he was working Turn 1 at Blackhawk that Saturday when the whatever you want to call it happened. He told me "Turn 7 saw you smoking but didn't flag you and took so long to radio it in that I didn't see you until you were passed me so I didn't flag you either."
I don't point fingers or make excuses it was my oil and that's all there is to it.
I saw a debris flag in turn 3 so I started to back off and try to find whatever it was and avoid it. Then I got to the bus stop and my left boot was slippery and hard to keep on the peg. That corner worker and his debris flag was very convincing that it was me that had a problem so I pulled off and when I got to the barrels I saw the smoke start to rise and shut the bike down.
I jumped over the wall and asked the corner worker what I should do? He said to just wait its going to be a while there are 4 bikes own in turn 2.
That's where the extreme shitty feeling started and really set in when I heard the helicopter.
My rear tire was drenched in oil, I have no idea how I didn't go down.
From the way I understand the way flags are used in a situation like that I wouldn't expected a black flag and being pointed at. The debris flag made me think something was on the track not wrong with my bike. I expressed that to Rick Breuer when I talked to him.
I'm just glad Alex and everyone involved is going to be okay.
I sincerely appallagize for ruining so many peoples weekend.
I owe ya a beer Alex!
Mark Boettcher
AM #13
Alex, regarding your expenses..... I hope you've been in touch with the Red Flag Fund. They're there to help out. While the scope of exactly what they can help with has some limitations, they are a great resource for Roadracers who are injured.
Quote from: Thrust LLC on August 26, 2012, 12:34:42 PM
I'm the Suzuki with stars on the tail that oiled the track. I feel freakin terrible. From what I've read here it sounds like Alex is doing as well as he can be. I hope your injuries aren't career ending.
Yesterday 8/25/2012 I was at the Superbikers 2 Supermoto charity race at the Washington County Fair Grounds. I started talking about the crash and one of the racers said he was working Turn 1 at Blackhawk that Saturday when the whatever you want to call it happened. He told me "Turn 7 saw you smoking but didn't flag you and took so long to radio it in that I didn't see you until you were passed me so I didn't flag you either."
I don't point fingers or make excuses it was my oil and that's all there is to it.
Mark - I won't speak for anyone else, but in my opinion it sounds like you did what you needed to do to identify the problem and get off the track. If you didn't see a debris flag until turn 3, and you got off after the bus stop, sounds to me like you acted appropriately.
It was your oil...but I don't see that you did anything wrong. There was certainly nothing you could have done to avoid the mess in turn 2. The last thing that I think anyone wants to do is play the blame game. It was a racing incident - it sucked - but that's racing.
Thanks for the post.
Tad
AM #818
Quote from: Thrust LLC on August 26, 2012, 12:34:42 PM
I'm the Suzuki with stars on the tail that oiled the track. I feel freakin terrible. From what I've read here it sounds like Alex is doing as well as he can be. I hope your injuries aren't career ending.
Yesterday 8/25/2012 I was at the Superbikers 2 Supermoto charity race at the Washington County Fair Grounds. I started talking about the crash and one of the racers said he was working Turn 1 at Blackhawk that Saturday when the whatever you want to call it happened. He told me "Turn 7 saw you smoking but didn't flag you and took so long to radio it in that I didn't see you until you were passed me so I didn't flag you either."
I don't point fingers or make excuses it was my oil and that's all there is to it.
I saw a debris flag in turn 3 so I started to back off and try to find whatever it was and avoid it. Then I got to the bus stop and my left boot was slippery and hard to keep on the peg. That corner worker and his debris flag was very convincing that it was me that had a problem so I pulled off and when I got to the barrels I saw the smoke start to rise and shut the bike down.
I jumped over the wall and asked the corner worker what I should do? He said to just wait its going to be a while there are 4 bikes own in turn 2.
That's where the extreme shitty feeling started and really set in when I heard the helicopter.
My rear tire was drenched in oil, I have no idea how I didn't go down.
From the way I understand the way flags are used in a situation like that I wouldn't expected a black flag and being pointed at. The debris flag made me think something was on the track not wrong with my bike. I expressed that to Rick Breuer when I talked to him.
I'm just glad Alex and everyone involved is going to be okay.
I sincerely appallagize for ruining so many peoples weekend.
I owe ya a beer Alex!
Mark Boettcher
AM #13
It is what it is bud, no use crying over spilt milk is my mentality, you got off when you were supposed to but unfortunately for all of us it happened so quick, i'm not mad & actually i'm quite relieved that its not worse. Damn suzuki's :D J/K!!
Just outta curiosity, what broke on the bike that caused you to dump oil?
[size=78%]I guess I would ask if anyone knows if the race organization has had any discussions on this. Whether they felt things could have been handled any differently.[/size]
[size=78%]I'm really sorry for all involved. For those healing, godspeed.[/size]
Mark,
I appreciate you stepping up about what happened. It is a frustrating situation but we all know it was not done on purpose. Just carry out our mission by educating yourself and others about how important bike prep is. I know sometimes you can't see everything but taking an extra 5 minutes to look stuff over can make a difference. As for you owing me a beer, I'm think more along the lines of a premium Vodka.JK
FYI, anyone interested in a 5 minute helicopter tour of the greater Rockford area, get out your Groupon QR code or fork over the full price of only $8800. Actually not as bad as I thought. Now lets see how the insurance tries to dodge this one.
Quote from: alocker on August 28, 2012, 07:29:54 AM
As for you owing me a beer, I'm think more along the lines of a premium Vodka.JK
I like the way you think! haha.
and $8800 for a 5 min heli ride??? Thats more than I've ever spent on one item in my entire life! Did they at least let you look out the window? Lol
$8800, I'll fly myself. Just gotta tell the pilot to gtfo of my seat. :lmao:
Quote from: supercarl on August 28, 2012, 02:12:22 PM
I like the way you think! haha.
and $8800 for a 5 min heli ride??? Thats more than I've ever spent on one item in my entire life! Did they at least let you look out the window? Lol
You guys are making my bruised rib hurt. I was only awake for about 30 seconds of it and did not see shit. It was surprisingly smooth and breezy though. My wife and I were just joking a few weeks ago how we would never set foot in one of those death traps. Very ironic.
Quote from: alocker on August 28, 2012, 06:21:30 PM
You guys are making my bruised rib hurt. I was only awake for about 30 seconds of it and did not see shit. It was surprisingly smooth and breezy though. My wife and I were just joking a few weeks ago how we would never set foot in one of those death traps. Very ironic.
Woulndt call them "death traps". its quite fun flying them. Well at least until your instructor kills the engines 100' off the ground. :biggrin: autorotation is really nerve racking.
Quote from: Fast Eddy on August 21, 2012, 12:53:58 PM
Glad to hear you will be OK.
I know a few people who swear by this supplement to help broken bones.
http://www.seacoast.com/maximum-bone-aid/seacoast-vitamins/180-tabs/p803 (http://www.seacoast.com/maximum-bone-aid/seacoast-vitamins/180-tabs/p803)
Oooo! Nice guys!
I've used them both. Seacoast is great to deal with, and Ethical Nutrients is...ethical. Win with either one.
Just out of curosity, what is the standard procedure during a practice session when oil is on the track? I would think if there is oil on the track, immediately the session would be red flagged? If it were known that the GSXR with stars bike had blown up wouldn't the first thing be to look for oil and then red flag? I am not privy to what the standard procedure is. Anyone have some insight?
I would assume red flag right away as well. No point in practicing still if the track is even in the least bit unsafe. But I can't say for sure.
Quote from: alocker on August 28, 2012, 07:29:54 AM
Mark,
I appreciate you stepping up about what happened. It is a frustrating situation but we all know it was not done on purpose. Just carry out our mission by Quote from: alocker on August 28, 2012, 07:29:54 AM
Mark,
I appreciate you stepping up about what happened. It is a frustrating situation but we all know it was not done on purpose. Just carry out our mission by educating yourself and others about how important bike prep is. I know sometimes you can't see everything but taking an extra 5 minutes to look stuff over can make a difference. As for you owing me a beer, I'm think more along the lines of a premium Vodka.JK
FYI, anyone interested in a 5 minute helicopter tour of the greater Rockford area, get out your Groupon QR code or fork over the full price of only $8800. Actually not as bad as I thought. Now lets see how the insurance tries to dodge this one.
The sad part is that it's costed me $2100 for bike repairs (new frame, forks/triple, both subframes & I haven't gotten the ohlins to Scotty yet for the swap/repairs) so yes take 10 minutes instead of 5 to make sure this doesn't happen in the future.
Quote from: supercarl on August 29, 2012, 04:20:08 PM
I would assume red flag right away as well. No point in practicing still if the track is even in the least bit unsafe. But I can't say for sure.
Yeah it would be red flagged once its determined theres oil.
Very sad to hear this, but this was the helicopter that transported from Blackhawk. Actually the same chopper that Alex rode in.
RIP to the crew members
http://www.rrstar.com/updates/x1926897824/3-killed-in-crash-of-REACT-medical-copter-in-Lee-County (http://www.rrstar.com/updates/x1926897824/3-killed-in-crash-of-REACT-medical-copter-in-Lee-County)
That's really sad :(
To the accident,
i was the next one in line for the crash, but i saw from the corner of my eye Alex hitting the airfence.
Just enough to stop accelerating and get my arm up. Then i felt it too, but since i wasn't "on the gas" I managed to squiggle and stay upright. Bikes were still tumbling and it looked just absolutely horrible.
Alex, I hope you're all healed up by now!!
t.
I'm having a little trouble taking this in along with the seeing my name on the expert list all in one day. RIP heli crew. I'm am healing up fine but not racing next year is finally sinking in. Don't take racing or the organization for granted. Being able to grid up against all of you was truly one of my best life experiences.
Good luck to all of you next year. If your not training now know that someone else already is :cheers: