Was just wondering for those of you that are there if there is any particular explaination for all the wrecks on Saturday. One guy I know went down on his SV and is now in the ER with a collapsed lung. One friend of mine had his first wreck due to two other riders crashing in front of him and he had no where to go....he said there was over 25 wrecks. That seems crazy to me to think there would be that many wrecks in a day, especially a STT track day.
i was there, don't have an explanation OTHER than guys just not taking their time, settling down, and getting into a rhythym, BEFORE wicking up the pace. there were a LOT of FIRST LAP crashes. in fact, somone went down the very first session of the day in I group. but it was spread all over. i also noticed several QUESTIONABLE passes in I group. not neccessarily unsafe, but maybe not neccessary at the time or place. ITS NOT A RACE people!! settle down so everyone can come home in one piece. if it takes you 2-3 or more corners to get by someone, SO WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
agreed. also my little rant... if you're running 1:40 lap times and a red flag goes up and you check up to 2:00, every second you spend tooling around the track with your hand on your hip is a second that guy face down in the dirt is without the attention he needs. People are slowing down WAY too much during the reds! I'm not saying to ride hard and crash yourself but 5 seconds off your normal pace should be painfully slow enough for you to know you're not going to crash and are able to avoid unexpected obstacles if you jump into the crash zone
I can't emphasize this enough!!! Every second might be crucial. Get back into the pits safely but ASAP!!
It was crazy, but I didn't see anything that different from other days at Barber. People seem to get carried away at Barber. The previous weekend at Tally only saw one red flag. There also seemed to be several red flags after the checker or white had been shown. The first I session was wild. I think we did most of that one under yellow.
I went down in turn 5 on first session on lap 4. Took 2 session to get rear set and clutch lever replaced. Then I found the problem; my tire gauge was off 9 lbs. high! Went out with 14 in rear and 22 in front. My bad. Sorry to hold everyone up. Will buy better tire gauge.
sorry to hear about your crash, but here's one word of advice. i always check my pressure with 2 different gauges. highly unlikley that 2 different gauges will be off the same or similar amount. that way, if one varies widely, you know there is a problem.
Word. I actually was RIGHT behind a wreck that happened. The one mentioned in the posts above (the 2 riders taken out by the guy lowsiding) I knew they were going to red flag it so I got on the gas getting around the track, red flag comes out I throw my hand up keep clicking around pretty good. But I got behind an instructor that I thought could have been going faster, I don't know who it was. I didn't see it as too big of a deal though BECAUSE the wreck was in turn 2-3 area and we were around 10-11. But still, I feel like I could have still been going a lot quicker to the pits. I've never been to a crash fest track day, until this weekend. Holy crap, people were dropping like flies out there!
I was also bothered by the lack of urgency from many riders during red flags. I came around T6 right just after the guy on the SV crashed and he was laying in the middle of the track, out of it and obviously hurt. I ran up on a several riders who had backed it down and were cruising back. I tried to wave them to pick it up and get back to pit road. Hopefully the rider is OK.
I had three that happend right in front of me in I. Watched a run off on the warm up lap going up the hill at the tunnel. Watched a rider ride straight down the hill at turn 5. And watched a guy pass me too hot in the museum turn only to blow the chicane. WOW what a weekend.
I was the first to Crash in Advanced Saturday... Front tire just let go in turn two...I was able to get the bike back to the pits fixed and ready for the rest of the day.. All I have is 2 broken fingers and a bike to buy more parts for... Sunday went smooth... Not many at all.. I have to agree though.. Barber gets people giddy and things happen....
Low-sided my SV in 5 the first A session after lunch. Every other time I've been down, I could trace it to something I'd done. This one... it's a mystery. I was on the second lap, settled into 5, taking it easy, neutral throttle going through the turn and the rear just slid out. I'd been through there faster and been through there with more lean. Somebody had gone down in the I session right before with antifreeze in his bike. It was cleaned up, but I'm not so sure they didn't miss some. Broken lever, clip-on, exhaust bracket and peg. Not bad, but enough to end my weekend. It was just a weird day - instructors giong down as well. STT did a good job in the rider's meeting of emphasizing that people should take it easy on the first lap or two. I think some days are just cursed.
It WAS a crash happy weekend. Red Flag= Safe, but EXPEDITIOUS return to the pits. As fast as everyone can get in without having two crashes to deal with at the same time. NOT the time for the parade lap. I rode by that rider laying in the middle of the track, thinking "the quicker we get our tail off the track, the quicker the ambulance can get to him"... I've never seen that many crashes in one weekend. Barber and perfect weather brings the animal out in riders....
I have never seen that many crashes before. LITERALLY every session I went out, on the last lap of the current session before I went out, there was crash and the crash truck went out to pick up the pieces. I rode novice so it was all in advance plus the lowside in I group that took out another rider at the end of the day. The worst one was that nasty highside after lunch. I hope that rider is doing ok.
EXACTLY!!!! I do recall trying to relate this in the rider's meeting, BOTH days - obviously, I need to do a better job of that! I hope everyone had a good weekend in spite of the red flags. best, t
I think it just needs to be reinforced. I didn't see it this weekend, but I have seen people slow down to a parade lap pace. New people especially have a lot to remember the first couple of track days. I had someone on YouTube bitching about nobody stopping to help the guy that did the endo at Barber a few weeks ago. Several people tried to explain that you need to get off of the course so that the emergency vehicles can roll and get them help from professionals.
I don't know how you reinforce something that is drilled into people's heads at every riders meeting and then in the classroom.