I have some friends who raced the endurance @ Nashville and they were telling me of some nasty wreck. I do believe going into turn one, they said it did not look good for either one of the guys that wrecked . Hope they are alive and kicking, any info greatly appreciated.
Go to www.roadracingworld.com and check out the article from Friday about Vesrah and AOD finishing 1-2. It's got some details in there. It was Roman Kilgore from NOTB and another rider whose name I can't remember. I'm avoiding the news sites until I watch the GP races on Speed today. From what I remember Roman had a cracked pelvis and the other rider had head injuries. Not sure if either of them hit the wall as the report didn't say. I'm definitely praying for a speedy recovery for all riders injured at Nashville as it sounded like a pretty nasty track and a bunch of people got hurt.
...and Beth has what Doc believes to be a torn / heavily sprained rotator cuff. It's so bad they actually went to have her coller bone and shoulder x-rayed looking for breaks.
I was watching the racing on Saturday. Picked a spot near the cornerworkers at the beginning of pit road. Between races we started talking and the lady mentioned a guy in the endurance race hit his head pretty hard. Said it split open his helmet and he had to be airlifted out. Last she heard, he was in critical condition. I sure do hope anybody that got hurt will be OK. I did the Bargy School on Thursday ( first time on a race track) and can tell you the transitions can be kinda scary. I bounced up out of my seat several times coming onto the banking on the tri oval part of the track and coming down off the tri oval, going into turn 1 had my rear wheel hopping pretty bad. I can only imagine what it would be like at the speeds the racers were running. I started transitioning onto the concrete later and getting off it earlier and that made a big difference. It wasn't near as violent a transition the closer I got to pit lane. I'm going to keep riding there because I had fun but would advise anyone to be very careful in these two areas.
The National should have had it at Putnam this weekend like last year, o well. I hope both riders that were hurt heal quickly/ a split helmet has to be very ugly. Sounds scary and an unpopular track. (469)
The biggest issue that I had with the track, safety-wise, was coming off the banking for Turn #1. Numerous times in practice, and during the race, I nearly ended up the same way that poor #186 did. It is not that I wasn't at full throttle, it's just that the SV can only go 135MPH, on a good day. The 600, 750, & 1000's we're a helluva lot faster by the end of the banking. The speed difference, and the angle of attack we're a recipe for disaster. I think the problem is that the passing riders had one eye on me, and one on the entry point on the opposite side of me. Because it was down the hill, it was difficult to make an accurate judgement. Novice 600cc rider #104 will attest to this fact. He came passed me on the right and assumed that I was ready to turn in. When he thought it was clear, he started down, QUICKLY, and I was left to take evasive action around the banking of NASCAR T1 & T2. As I zoomed around, coming back into his view, I pointed at him, and he later came to apologize in the garages. (Very cool move.) That was during practice. During the race, there were numerous other riders that did it, but luckily, I was already versed in the 'Save Yourself From Dive Bombers" Drill. Sometimes I got double-passed, and I knew that there was nothing that I could do but 'fly in formation', or end up in a pile. In the case that we(ra) make the mistake of returning to this track, I would like to see some cones added to the banking for Turn #1. What this would do is give the passing rider an 'On-Track' reference point that would help them make a better decision as to where and when they should pass the slower riders. $0.02
I enjoyed the track on the whole, although after my first sighting lap I was tempted to pack up and go home. I wonder if cones could be placed from the outerwall into T1 to guide and funnel riders together by removing the possibility of the dive-bomb move. I stayed close to the inside all the time, but I know others were coming in from high. If that corner could be fixed, I think the track would be fine.
Years of working in Corporate life have taught me the very valuable skill of taking someone elses idea, and presenting in such a way so as to gain all the credit. Sorry - I forgot where I was for a minute - that was your idea, I just agreed with it.
