I was wondering who the other rider was involved in the incident. Found out on Facebook that it was Chris ulrich. I think he's mostly unscathed. John ulrich posted a couple of pictures on his Facebook. Some of the comments are a bit harsh.. Geesh. Complaining that non-racers should be In a different group.
^^ Well John is a good guy but maybe he can start hosting some days and allow that to happen... Just another reason I dont do Facebook but I would really love to respond to that...
I had a good time being out there with these guys, but to be honest all I could think about was not getting in their way and causing an issue with the racers that turned out. After a couple of really close passes I sat out a couple of sessions to give them more room. Seems a bit risky on the racers part to take to the track with unfamiliar riders, especially in prepping for an upcoming race. I looked at the comments and most were poking at trackday riders - hey, it was a track day event for all of us non-racers. We didn't have an issue sharing the track with racers, seems some might have had an issue with sharing the day with us little bitty track day folks...:fencing: And I did see a lever in the middle of the track leading into 6 when I came through right after the crash...... HJ
Yeah shame on you, you should have known they were just trying to get some laps in before Daytona! :fencing:
Stefano saw that the Pin was missing on his Brembo Perch after the accident Sunday.. When we talked I told him it could have broke when the bike flipped if the lever his a certain way...... I teched both Joe Lee's and Stefano's new Duc Sat AM... Joe Lees Pin and clip were there....He rode all day Sat and up to that point Sun with no issues.. And you guys know he is way fast and uses those brakes...Only Joe Lee can tell us if it was a no front brake scenario going in there or not.. If it was that Pin broke that would explain the 70 foot skid mark going in but it would not explain about the front tucking which I also heard.. Plus there was some serious scrapes leading up to the grass as well..... Regardless I have heard Joe Lee's Femur Surgery went well and now they need to do a Hip Surgery... Hope for the best on this...
For the record it was an expert racer friend of mine. His KTM lost the front brake lever. Motorcycles vibrate a lot V-twins even more. He takes good care of his bikes and only lets top shops service for him if he isn't doing it. Never mind the ignorant comments... it's the internet! This sort of thing can happen to any of us.
The pros were amazingly fast (and me amazingly slow), but in terms of staying out of the way I just try to leave a gap at the edge of the track. They know what to do with it!
i was trying to do the same. i was just trying to leave space on the outside where possible to avoid getting in there way. it was pretty cool to be out there with those guys, definitely gives you some perspective.
I was 5 feet to the left of him when he did it (it was explosive), and 5 feet to the right of the other rider involved (they were splitting me waay late)...how I managed not to target fixate and run right into/over the both of them is testimony to the training STT has provided.... Then I may be the 'regular trackday rider' they speak of. I'd sure like to see the comments. The fact is I was in the middle of the track, and both of them had the opportunty to go around me - and did just not in the way they planned - I made the turn so whatever I was doing it was right for me.... Edit: After reading the FB comments, they were pointed towards the CR rider who lost his brakes. I was the guy they were splitting when it all went down...
Sent Dad a PM. Glad his son is OK, and glad that the worst that happened to the CR was a broken leg. As high as it tossed him, I was afraid it was a lot worse... The loss of the front brake explains why I saw the Rear lock up, bounce, and toss..
I'm with TeamBeer. I just road on Saturday and didn't have problems with the pros sharing the same track. I think my "job" as an advanced track day rider is to stay consistent and predictable and not be spooked by close passes. I expect the pros are expert enough to get around me with knocking me over. Of the many (beaucoup) times pro riders went around me, some passes may have been close, but they were all clean. Well, there was just one pass in the museum turn that stood me up (Fong, was that you?!), but it wasn't anything to complain about. I'm sorry to hear about the accidents on Sunday, and I hope all heal-up well and quickly. PJ '06 R6 #70
I thought Saturday went really well, and agree that everyone was 'nice'. Sunday after lunch it wasn't as nice, So I rode in I the rest of the day to stay out of everyone's way.
I rode in A Sunday afternoon myself, and personally, I didn't have any issues... but I had quite a few people come to me to tell me how "out of hand" it was out there. I do what I can to keep it controlled. As far as the incident with Joe goes - as Johnny pointed out, Joe is an excellent, fast and safe rider, who also has some really sweet bikes that are all immaculately maintained. After looking at his bike, I agree that the brake lever pivot bolt fell out and he had no front brakes. Yesterday morning, Chris Ulrich emailed me to see how Joe was doing, and wanted to make sure I send best wishes to Joe from him. Chris is a completely class-act, and a nice guy to boot. Obviously he was peeved that he got taken out, but he certainly does not blame Joe. I wish more people behaved so well after an on track incident. t
We were parked next to Team Hammer and it did a number on the bike but it seem that Ulrich was mostly OK (limped a bit getting out of the bus). It sounded like a rider ran into him. Overall he seemed to be working hard to be nice about it and if he did in fact get run into I can understand why it would be upsetting. That said I did not here a foul word from him nor anyone on the team toward the other rider who I bet they all hope heals fast and well (the entire team seemed very nice). I also chatted with a couple of other AMA guys (that I did not realize were pros at the time) and they were also very pleasant folks. As to the passing I only saw a couple of interesting things and they were in the flagged session. Even they were nits vs issues and it was a pleasure riding with everyone on both days. On Sunday I did my best lap yet on the GSXR and am finally feeling good on it plus it was cool to watch the lines of the pros for the turn or so I would have them in sight Oh and the new Brembo and SS lines :getdown: Also on Saturday I followed a CR from NOLA and should be able to review some video I have for a bunch of good ideas as we played most of the session (though he did confuse me when we talked by calling #3 turn #2 :cheers Thanks (sorry I don't recall his name)
Same here! I thought that was really cool. I happened to pit right next to Shawn Hill, got to talk to him and his father all weekend. They were great people to be around.