Any word about the two guys who were medivacated out of Pocono this Sunday? Both of those crashes didn't look good.
I thought I heard that the first guy had concussion symptoms after his fall. Didn't hear about the 2nd guy.
Sheesh! You ain't kidding! It was like the worst of a FUSA day, all wrapped up in a tiny package. Hopefully everyone is gonna be OK. The crashes, red flags, and down time really put a crimp in my style. We were doing a lot of head scratching as to why this seemed to be one of the worst Pocono East days ever. Was the Intermediate Group oversold, or why the sudden change of format?:evil: Despite the mishaps, we had a great day, it didn't rain, and it is always nice to see people. Chris, MZ Skorpion with Brembo knock-off rotors and new Brembo brakes, but not the gold ones.
It was pretty bad. I thought they were going to cancel our last two sessions of the day too because of it. Thankfully, we still got out there. You were moving out there, Hunsicker. I remember seeing you about to come back on the track for turn 5 during the last session. I was thinking.. "oh crap, I hope he sees me coming."
it was awful. it seemed like the cornerworkers were a little too happy with the red flags, but I also noticed quite a few people crashing, picing up their bikes and waiting in the impact zone for the crash truck to get them. sheesh! if you crash and you're ok, MOVE YOUR BUTT AND YOUR BIKE OUT OF THE IMPACT ZONE, PEOPLE!!! I also saw an idiot in I-1 pass three red flags and do a victory lap all by himself. the 6 foot passing rule seemed to be all but ignored in Intermediate, and I noted a fair share of wheelies coming out of the bustop and more stupid tricks like wheelies and stoppies on the road from pit-out to the paddock. Don't these people attend the rider's meeting? I'm a little disappointed about all but two of the already short fifteen minute sessions being red-flagged, not to mention the penultimate session cancelled outright, but I still had fun. I'm very glad to see that Dave has managed to maintain the family atmosphere that I've grown used to in the great lakes region and the track coaches are top notch, too. I got some really great input! maybe if they pressed the coaches into traffic cop duty and started either making numbskulls sit out a session, pulling stickers or moving riders down a group as needed, they could reduce the number of crashes & red flags and make the events safer for everyone. It seemed like things really tightened up and got better in the midwest, I'm sure that it can be done here, too. Ultimately, I think we're seeing some growing pains and things will gett even better. cheers, Lance
:shock: :shock: :shock: Sounded like a squid fest on that day!!!! That sucks :x :x !! I do hope those two guys are ok. I'm sure that it won't stay the norm like that though. Usually the event's I've gone to are run VERY PROFESSIONALLY!.
i hate that little rinky-dink track. it beats riding on the street any day though... :arrow: :twisted:
The weather held which is the toughest part of Pocono... My favorite was the guy on the blue SV650 in the A group who missed the left hander at the end of the back straight, stopped, turned around and then didn't even wait for the corner worker to react - the guy just jumped back onto the track while a couple of us had to 'adjust' to his stupidity.... Dumbshit! I had visions of me and the guy in front of me testing the airfence that was set up there.... I went to the Track Marshal (Keith) and let him know... I found the guy later and tried to talk to him about it, but I don't know if he understood English enough to comprehend the full extent of the situation. And since I don't speak Chinese at all, I'll just keep an eye out for him... I'll stop ranting now... Otherwise, it was a really well-run event and Dave & the rest of the crew did the usual outstanding job!
I hated that after the red flag came out, most riders used it as a reason to site see around the track. I don't think it was explained that we, the riders, have to get off before the person down can be helped.
the second guy didn't have his helmet strapped on when he went out onto the track. he had a video camera on and the video bears this out. i guess he was trying too hard (with the video camera recording) on the first lap with cold tires- not a good idea. i feel bad though because he didn't know where he was when he got up and had a growing bump on the front of his forehead. i hope it's nothing but a $10,000 whirlybird ride. it's not the fault of the riders when they go slow around the track after a red flag, they are mostly street guys and don't know the protocol. they think red flag means slow to a crawl and trundle back to the pits. :arrow: :?:
"it's not the fault of the riders when they go slow around the track after a red flag, they are mostly street guys and don't know the protocol. they think red flag means slow to a crawl and trundle back to the pits." It is their fault if it's mentioned in the rider's meeting and they choose to ignore it. But to be honest, i don't remember if it was. I will give them some flexability if it's not menitoned, but still, after a few laps of watching everyone get back on the starting grid, you'd think they'd get the message. Being a 'street rider' is no excuse to ignore basic safety rules. I do know the passing rule was illustrated by Dave and a large majority of people seemed to be ignoring it. One thing that's surprising is that none of the bone head moves caused another person to crash, at least to be best of my knowledge. When that starts to happen, it's gonning to get REAL ugly in the pits. I remember the track marshal (Andy?) yelling at everyone on the grid back in May about too many crashes and rule infractions. He made everyone cut their engines and listen to his 2 minute warning. I know that's not his job, but it was needed then, and probably now.
one thing about the red flags and the slow and dangerous riding of the riders, was that these were the riders of the novice class that we are talking about and they have too much on their plate as it is. some of them are using up all of their energy just trying to run the correct line. it's a lot of stuff to learn as a novice. they will get it eventually if they come back. i think most of the novice group were good guys, tryin hard to ride well and not be a problem- at least my group was. :arrow: 8)
A friend that rides with another club told me that "pocono tends to bring out the idiots..." can you guys attest to this? my only other experience with STT in the East, was the STT/Reduc date last oct. that one was nothing like this time. Those guys made Autobahn's Czech-mafia look like reasonable, sane, safe and conscientious riders. Lance
Heh. Usually the Pocono FUSA course brings out the idiots, not the East course. However, the FUSA event in August ran smoothly compared to other years. Depends on the day, it seems.
Pocono is very close to the NYC area and there are more and more 'stunta' and 'street racer' people showing up at Pocono. Reduc/STT has almost none but other clubs do. I found that NESBA of all places is getting more and more groups of 'club' riders.
I remember the track marshal (Andy?) yelling at everyone on the grid back in May about too many crashes and rule infractions. He made everyone cut their engines and listen to his 2 minute warning. I know that's not his job, but it was needed then, and probably now.[/quote] Did Andy do that? This is Andy Curro we're talking about, right? Tall guy with a moustache, rides a Harley (or used to), part of the PA Posse, right? If you're reading this Andy, well done, dude! If Andy felt he needed to yell at people on the grid, then someone back in the rider's meeting should have made the rules unmistakeably clear before the day began. I am assuming they had a rider's meeting before the first group, right? Back when I was track marshall with Reduc, too many crashes in the morning meant a rider's meeting after lunch, in which Bobby, Jean and Marco would repeat everything that was said in the morning, for the benefit of the slow learners. And they would take 10 - 15 minutes to lecture the riders about safety - they were all itching to get back on the track, and they had to listen to Bobby B tell them what a**holes they were. I loved it. It worked, too, sometimes. Also, we wouldn't hesitate to blackflag riders we thought were too aggressive, out of control, passing too close, etc. The sight of the black flag waving would often remind the others they could get one too if they screwed up. Cornerworkers still do that with STT, right? Back in the Reduc days, two black flags in one day could get you tossed for the day, or maybe forever, if Bobby and Jean and Marco thought you deserved it. With all that said, a bad day at the track can happen any day, and it sux when it does. I can remember that one FUSA day a couple of years ago with all the crashes - all those smashed Ducatis against the armco, and the helicopters, and the riders in the hospital. It was horrible. Anyone who has to preside over that kind of carnage has my sympathy.
"I remember the track marshal (Andy?) yelling at everyone on the grid back in May about too many crashes and rule infractions. He made everyone cut their engines and listen to his 2 minute warning. I know that's not his job, but it was needed then, and probably now.[/quote] Did Andy do that? This is Andy Curro we're talking about, right? Tall guy with a moustache, rides a Harley (or used to), part of the PA Posse, right? If you're reading this Andy, well done, dude! " I think it was Andy. Whoever typically does the pit out/grid duty. Either way, it was well-appreciated. I don't think there were any black flags thrown last Sunday. The only guy I saw that deserved one was the one who entered the track at the end of the back straight, right in front of another rider and me :shock: There's no way the corner worker gave him the OK to enter. We miss you at the track Ben. You did a good job keeping everyone in line. Plus, I miss the way you'd piss off Bobby by firing up that Hodaka during the rider's meeting 8)
Ditto on this. Miss you too, Ben, and thanks Rich for that little nugget of history from the REDUC glory days....