My roommate and teammate, George Shawn Lingwall (CCS AM #412, overall points leader) lowsided in turn 3 at Summit Point this past weekend. He sustained a very serious head injury. Exact details are not known about the crash. When I came around the dust was still in the air and the cornerworker was running out to him and he was laying face down motionless in the gravel trap. He was flown from Summit point by helicopter to Fairfax County Hospital. He is in Critical, but stable condition and is on a respirator and still unconcious. Outlook is better now than it originally was, but still uncertain.
Shawn's family and girlfriend wanted me to thank all the racers and workers showed their support and helped out. Kenny, Mr. and Mrs. Moyer, Buffy, and all the CCS and MARCC cornerworkers. I hope I did not miss anyone. It really meany a lot.
Please have Shawn in your prayers and thoughts. If anyone wants info please feel free to email me at sportbike2@aol.com.
Several people have asked me about where to send a card or money to, so if you would like to send cards or support please send it to:
George S. Lingwall
21055 Stanford Square Apt 200
Dulles, VA 20166
If anyone knows the details of this accident please tell me. Right now no one is certain of what happened, and the doctors and family would like to know.
Thank You all, I will post updates as I hear them
Thanks
for the update! I'll give u a call tonight.
Mel
Shawn and family will be in my prayers. :-[
Good luck for a quick recovery. T3 was a little slick and I pushed the front a couple time before backing off through there. I hope he recovers 100% soon. He is a good competitor.
Hi Adrian
Thanks for the update. We are all thinking about you and Shawn and his family. I know there was some confusion about his insurance so I wanted to mention the Wegman Fund to you. If there is anything I can do let me know. My prayers are with all of you. Take care
Jenny Snyder
AKA - Buffy
crap. I raced against him last year when he ran a TLR in WERA Heavy Twins, a very good racer. He has doing really well racing this year too. I wish him a speedy recovery, I saw the helo circling overhead and I heard the announcer and that is not a good thing. :-/ yeah T3 was pretty slick and as always a lot of crashes happen there. I wish that turn was a little more on-camber....
Is it just me or doesn't T3 invite more high sides than low sides?
I still am not sure what happened to Shawn if he low sided and did not hit the tire wall to cause such massive head trauma.
Maybe it is just because I have high sided it twice (no helicopter, just a ride in the bus to Jefferson Memorial both times). In those I know how I got knocked out.
Dunno...between hitting that sealant when not on the good line and the off camber pitch that turn is hell.
I emailed Adrian a while ago to give him the info on what I saw. I'm not 100%, but I'm fairly certain he tangled with another rider and was sort of knocked over at speed, and hit the gravel very hard.
I saw 2 run off before him and a couple of close calls in T3 during the same race.
Hoping he's mending quickly.
Shawn, his family and his girlfriend are in my thoughts and prayers.
I didn't see exactly what happened, but he stopped in the gravel trap. I was by his side moments after it happened.
Adrian, thanks for the update. Please let him and his family know that the MARRC crew wishes him a speedy recovery.
I'm also a friend of Shawn's.
I was specifically wathcing him and Adrian in that race. It was a clean solo lowside, but I think Shawn may have been trying to save it, that or it was just just too fast. He didn't let go and he hit the track face first, then slid into the gravel trap and stopped next to his bike. After a minute or so I thought I saw some movement and then ran back to his pits to let his girlfriend know. :(
Hopefully tomorrow we can do some bench racing when I go see him. :-/ Get well Shawn, we really missed you this weekend.
Travis EX #440
Has he been awake at all?
He is still unconcious at this time. Everything is uncertain until he wakes up.
I was watching at three when it all happened. One rider low sided early on....another seemed to push the front and go off the track but not damage himself...
Then the final crash....
Yes, it appeared to be a three bike incident. I think he was in the middle, and got tossed the wrong way. I wasn't looking at it directly as it happened, so I can't give numbers or anything...but there are two other racers that were "involved". I don't think it was necessarily anyone's fault, but they might know more...
Keep us posted, and we'll all keep praying.
I also was spectating in T3 when Shawn crashed. I feel awful that I was not able to process mentally what happened and I really don't know what occured. As Dave said, there were two other bikes in very close proximity to Shawn. I have no idea if they were in any way involved, but one appeared to take evasive action to avoid either Shawn, his bike or the other rider. I remember seeing Shawn tumbling on the track on the outside of his bike and it did not look like a classic lowside to me. I am so sorry that I am not able to tell you more. Shawn and his friends and family are in my prayers.
T3 felt funny to me and the frequency of crashes seemed to be much higher than normal there this weekend. Seemed like many people were losing the front. I felt a bump at the apex that seemed new or different than from when I was there at the beginning of May. It felt worse abut 3 feet off the candy stripes and scared the bejezes out of me when I hit it out there once. I went to T3 after dark and rolled my flashlight around looking for shadows and there is a narrow dip that extends out into the corner perpendicular from the candy stripe near the apex. Perhaps all the rain has changed the shape of the bump from before, but I never remember feeling it like that before and I've been through that corner quite a few times.
My pit buddy David Cross lowsided there and it spectacularly launched his TL up in the air over the tire wall and demolished the bike.
Anybody else think the bump felt new or different?
QuoteAnybody else think the bump felt new or different?
Wasn't really "new" to me, but, like we talked about at Summit, I could kind of see it on the track.
The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. The tangent of a fallen rider given their turning radius at that point would probably be from the point of the bump.
Shawn is doing a lot better. He is now concious. and talking, still a little slow to respond and groggy, but he remembers a lot and understands everything. Head took quite a hit, and he is on Morphine, so it will take time. These are all positive signs. GOt into an argument today about whether his bike was totalled. (It isn't, but he swears it is.). He then talked to a a fellow racer, and when that person asked him his number , Shawn said number 1. :D
That is way too funny. I am trying to answer all the emails and PM's that I am getting. This is just a start, but at least it is a good one.
QuoteShawn is doing a lot better. He is now concious. and talking, still a little slow to respond and groggy, but he remembers a lot and understands everything. Head took quite a hit, and he is on Morphine, so it will take time. These are all positive signs. GOt into an argument today about whether his bike was totalled. (It isn't, but he swears it is.). He then talked to a a fellow racer, and when that person asked him his number , Shawn said number 1. :D
That is way too funny. I am trying to answer all the emails and PM's that I am getting. This is just a start, but at least it is a good one.
Great news!!! Glad to hear he is concious!
That is absolutely fantastic news. I can imagine he is groggy from the meds if nothing else. Please tell him we are all pulling for his full and speedy recovery!
God bless man. . . praying for him.
Same thing happened to me last season (8/24/03 at Blackhawk - in a coma for a week, the hospital for a month and another 4 months of therapy etc.) and it will get better. Hang in there guys but he'll be back to normal soon! ;)
That is absolutely OUTSTANDING!
Gald he's awake!!!!!
GREAT news.
My brother and I are in the Sterling area if there is ANYTHING that George needs.
Please don't hesitate to contact myself or castle228 on or off thread!
I am glad he's doing better! The human body is a wonderous thing! Let's pray that he stays positive and continues to heal both mentally and physically!
Best news I've heard! Absolutely wonderful!
Adrian, thanks for the update. Like Will said, please do not hesitate to let either one of us know if Shawn needs anything.
excellent news, keep the updates coming....
Brains do funny things when they've been bonked, "#1", well, at least he's thinkin' positive! Sounds like he'll be fine in time and that is really good to know.
I once went looking for my first car in the pits till the cobwebs cleared. Bernie stiil talks to Elvis in turn 1 ;D Thanks for keeping us posted.
:D
So glad to hear! Hoping he has a speedy recovery.
His bike didn't look totaled! That should make him happy should he believe you about the condition of his bike.
That is the best news I've heard all week...!!! ;D
I was worried about him alot when I seen him just lying there...It happened before I got there so i would not have been of any help in trying to decifer what happened...
Andy
Yea!!!!!! Thanks Adrian tell him we are thinking about him!!!
Buffy
I just returned from visiting Shawn. Met his step-mother and father, nice folks.
Shawn is semi-awake and able to hold a conversation. He had a hard time opening his eyes. I spoke with him for a couple minutes but didn't want to intrude in his healing process too much. He knows what's going on around him. His step-mom told him that I dropped off some flowers and his response was something along the lines of "Cool." He's off all medications and things are looking good.
I'm still surprised that the impact didn't break any bones.
Just thought I would let y'all know.....
Glad to hear he's coming around! :)
That is just OUTSTANDING! I am glad he pulled through!
Chris, that is very cool that you went to see Shawn. Very cool.
Glad to hear Shawn is awake!! I wish him a speedy recovery. I met Shawn last year at a WERA Summit Point event he was riding the TL at the time, very friendly and we had a good conversation about our racing the TLR. Thank you Bernie, for giving me a mention about my crash in T3 on Sunday. I see a lot of guys talking about a bump at the entry/turn inpoint of T3. I can say after doing the rewind and replay over and over in my mind.. I levered my front wheel off the ground after using a later entry into T3 to prevent myself from making those ill advised outside passes in T3. Basically i ground my footpeg into the asphalt while at max lean angle..bad move. I used this line (late entry into T3) in my 2 Saturday races and Sunday practice, it worked fine..just my reasrset needed to be up higher. Well enough of my bench racing drivel... more important is that Shawn is on the road to recovery, my bike can be replaced/parted out, Shawn can't. So good luck and health to a fellow racer.
David Cross
CCS #696 Am
2000 Suzuki TL1000R (retired as of 5/30/04)
2003 Kawasaki ZX6RR ( to be debuted at VIR June 25-27)
I visited Shawn on Sunday and he was about 95% coherent and alert. He knew everything that was going on and could hold a conversation just fine. Only sometimes he would think he was in Florida or Massachusetts ???, yet he totally understood that I live right down the street from him.
Yesterday he was moved to the Inova Mt. Vernon facility to begin therapy/rehab. I don't know what all he has to do, but I doubt he will be there for long. He birthday is on Sunday and I believe something is being planned for him.
Go Shawn!!
:D :D :D