What I heard around the paddock, even from some Warhorse and M4 team members, was that Baz let off after the checker quicker than the other rider around him, they cruised by Baz surprising Ritchie who couldn't see because he was behind. What people are unsure about is why Ritchie was still at full gas. Most are speculating that he might have missed the checker flag. I never got an accusatory vibe from anyone though. Feels like it was just a perfect storm of unfortunate events.
No alcohol is Hall County - usually they don't bother about it, not sure what changed this time unless it was the larger crowd.
Yeah, I did a little research and it looks like it has always been the policy because of the county ordinance. I guess they just haven't always enforced it. At least now I know to either not take anything or hide it since it seems like they are checking coolers when they see them.
One thing to remember about Road Atlanta - damn near every year in the out of control party days there was a spectator killed at pro motorcycle races. That's why the party got stomped on and why I'd guess they are more stringent enforcing the alcohol law as the crowds get larger again.
Not always but that part really depends on how old you are. It happened when they finally got a license to sell at the track. I'd be surprised if they were doing more than a token check to enforce the rules visibly.
The results show that Richie crossed the line about a half second behind Baz. So if Baz slowed down more than Richie was expecting, he had very little time to adjust and avoid. Human reaction time is around 200ms so by the time he processed the slow down, he had 300ms or so to react. That’s why for red flags or after the finish line, you need to be careful before you roll off or chop the throttle and why when you are following someone, always be thinking about how you pass them if they miss a shift or have an issue. Or maybe that’s just me…
Results also showed JD between them. Granted they don't usually come across Road A nose to tail like some other tracks but I could still see Baz slowing, JD moving over and Richie getting caught out. That's what my guess was after seeing where the bikes wound up. The other guess was Richie having been chasing JD so close for a while he didn't see the white.
Consistent to what some folks are also saying. Richie didn't see the white because was concentrating on chasing JD and as such, RE thought the checkers was the white and is why he ( RE ) kept WFO into Baz who had just rolled off throttle after the checkers.
Yikes. That IS a perfect storm. I noticed he released an injury update on Instagram, I'll have to go check it out. Hope he's back to racing soon. -T
One thing I still vividly remember from my race school was my instructor telling me to race through turn 1 at the checkered so something like this doesn't happen. Don't know if that would've mattered in this case...
you guys have to consider the target …. Make a quick change muffler attachment out of some old FZR 400 parts, like their original racebike, painted black of course slap a 99 and AOD logo on it and he’ll love it have to convince him it’s for higher performance with back pressure instead of a sound reducer are they still running an air compressor too instead of electric impacts or even compressed nitrogen for their old pneumatics? had lots of fun running against Sam and Melissa’s teams over the years way back 20-25 years ago… lots of great riders and crew around
Genset sounds like runaway Detroit diesel and the air compressor surpasses the genset.. and yes they still win.. A lot
Thanks for the horrifying reminder of the one Detroit 671 I had runaway on me. Fortunately it had the air flapper to shut it down. But damn that was a scary few minutes