WERA Racer hits deer in the chute at Summit Point

[Xpat2b]

Caught on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW7ktbJzpPs&feature=player_embedded

Discussion thread on WERA forum:
http://forums.13x.com/showthread.php?t=256859

Freeze frame:

[XFACTOR]

wow!  SPEECHLESS........great to hear no serious injuries.

[jigs]

Holy crap!! Thank God nobody got killed in that one....except the deer of corse,Cristiano DaMatta in a Champ car hit a dear a couple years back at Road America going up the hill into T-6,was in a coma for like a month.....they activlely hunt that land but I've seen Deer up there jump 10' high fences.

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

We had one in T5 at BHF this year sit near the corner station just watching. Lots of commotion on the radio over that.

[yzfrjim]

that was seriously crazy....thank god the rider was o.k...

[Super Dave]

This has happened at Summit before during my racing life time.

Maybe there need to be more deer hunters. 

[crossroads425]

holy crap!!!  that was bad.  My buddy hit a ground hog there a couple years ago at a track day when i was riding behind him.  Needless to say i got the ass end of it splattered all over me coming to the end of the front strait.

[twilkinson3]

For the record -OUCH - and the deer whistle idea doesn't work on a fast moving bike, by the time the deer is close enough to overcome the doppler effect you and it are just as likely to occupy the same space with or without hte whistle....

[Cowboy 6]

I take it someone hit it first?  It looks like the deer is already on the ground when he hits it....

[XFACTOR]

IDK,  maybe.
I was thinking the deer slipped trying to change direction quickly.......ever see 'em on the road? they hit the pavement with those hoofs and they look like they are on ice.   

[apriliaman]

One time me and Eric Helmbach almost hit one between turn 2-3.We were side by side at the time.Maybe a foot away!!!!

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

One time me and Eric Helmbach almost hit one between turn 2-3.We were side by side at the time.Maybe a foot away!!!!

Same with me at Road America back when we still used the kink. I came thru the kink at speed and saw a deer run across the track out in front of me going to my left running toward Canada Corner, it got to the left side wall / fence and freaked out darting back across the track to the right just as I got to it. Luckily I was expecting that and I had done a quick look behind me to make sure no one was close and was braking hard when it started running down the track as it was slowly crossing to the right in front of me. I went by it on the left not more than several feet away from it while still going probably 100 MPH, then I stopped for a second on the inside exit of Canada Corner at the Corner Worker station and told him there was a deer trapped out on the track back there. Luckily no one hit that thing! 

[eh427]

One time me and Eric Helmbach almost hit one between turn 2-3.We were side by side at the time.Maybe a foot away!!!!

I was tellin people about that incident after I saw this video. Had to clean my leathers when I came off the track after that one.

[benprobst]

I take it someone hit it first?  It looks like the deer is already on the ground when he hits it....

That black mass flying through the air on the other side of the deer is the rider being catapulted that already hit the deer. All you see is the rider who was following him.

[XFACTOR]

I see the camera bike following the lead bike, lead bike strikes deer which is already down (I'm thinking it slipped),  lead bike rider gets hurled and camera bike follows but doesn't "hit" the mess left over from the first impact.         are you saying someone else hits deer before the camera bike and lead bike get there?

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

Hell deer whistles dont work at 55mph either. I know a few peopel who had them on their cars/trucks that still hit one.

Best way to prevent deer vs race vehicle issues is to build race tracks in the middle of a city.

[Ducmarc]

deer turtles and i think we had an alligator at jennings one time. turtles almost eveytime i've been there mainly on the back straight it seems. i'm ready for the deer culling exercise whenever you are dave.  lets see clear track of undesriables on friday practice saturday barbucue satuday evening and race sunday.

[Xpat2b]

If you go to the WERA discussion link, someone re-made the video in slow motion. You can even download the wmv file. Much easier to see what happened. The deer drops down, then bike #1 strikes the deer and does an endo, launching the rider forward and the bike cartwheels after him. Bike #2 then runs over the deer and then rides off track to riders left, staying up. Bike #2 gets back on track just as cornerworker Chris Astle rushes to the down rider. BTW cleanup of deer remains took about 45 mins.

[gixxerzoli]

Two years ago in the morning pactice i was passing an other racer on the Summit straight. Same time an other rider pulled in from the pit. So we were 3 wilde, full trottle.
Than SUPPRISE,... 2 Deers passed tru right front of us at the service road after the start finish line from the infield. Both of us braked like crazy but we had nowhere to go from each other. But we got lucky, the deers are speed up and ran off. If they wont start running some of us would definatelly hit them. We were super LUCKY.
Summit is like a little zoo. I also heard stories about fox, skunk, gandhog, turtle, snake even friend of mine Martin hit the bird making a huge mess under his helmet.
This video is one of the worse nightmare of the racer. /unexcepted object on the track/
Hope he is okay!

[Burt Munro]

Best story about hitting a deer I've ever seen.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op1fsc9EWgI&feature=player_embedded