Click on all small images where applicable to see the shot in actual size.
More shots will be added and pictures will be color scanned at a good resolution when I return to 'work' next week.
There is a little bit of background info for those who might not remember, I sliced my right hand pretty good last December
and am going
in for surgery to put the tendons
and nerves back together. The operation was postponed for 2 weeks so I
could go racing, there are references in the following text that with this
info should make a lot more sence...
Shots during practice on Friday & Saturday
Let me just say, I HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST OF A TIME!!!!! The trip down went as well as a 1,200 mile drive can, nuff said... Friday was spent turning 1:47 minute lap times. This sucks as last year I turned 1:38's as the first time riding the bike, first time racing, and first time even seeing the track. It had however been 6 months since I had raced and a whole month since I even rode a bike. My hand turned out to only cause a little discomfort after I stopped and 2000mg of asprin every 4 hours took care of that.
Saturday I managed to get down to 1:45's and was a LOT more comfortable on the bike. Let me say, dragging a knee in turn 1 at Willow Springs is only something that can be done to understand and you haven't TRUELY seen god 'till you hold it WFO in top gear through turns 6-7-8 down the back 'straight', all you can really do is tell yourself 1000 times a second 'These tires are GOING to hold!' ;)
Sunday Beth and Jim arrived just as I was suiting up for the 2nd practice session of the day, weather was perfect, everything was awesome! I pulled some 1:40's in the first practice and I wanted to see if I could get down to some 1:38's. All I had to do is go alot faster through 2, 4, and 9. Turn 2 is a FAST long right hander. This was no problem, 9 is a really tight right hander also and widing my line a bit and not downshifting to 4th till I was through the turn made some much better driove possible so only one turn to go, 4, top of the hill, bring it 180 around and go on down in 3rd gear, hard down to 5... well, a wide line was not the answer!
This is what happens when you wad a racebike in turn 4 at WSMC
I'll say this, crashing SUCKS, crashing 1,200 miles from home ever more so! After lowsiding from lifting the wheels on the exhaust we slip right offthe track... Some might know but others I'm sure don't, run off at WSMC doesn't exist to let you back on the track, at all! There is at least a 6-8 inch drop from the track surface to the 'ground' everywhere. If you hit this WFO on a bone stock hawk motor in 3rd gear your doing about 85mph... ground sky ground sky ground sky etc etc etc followed and MAN did it HURT!
You see, I went a 'little' wide the previous lap and it felt awesome, so I
was just trying a 'little bit more' far a straighter drive down to 5.
Well, didn't work. It was 4B, the right hander down the hill. I was
going around the bumps instead of inside them as I figure I'd have to to
get around all the slow guys on fast bikes. Well, I was hanging all the
way off and really dragging a knee hard, when the rear tire lifted and I
did a 180 around. I slid off the track ass first, you should see the
pretty kink in the exhaust! anyway, bike is fine, didn't even flip, I
however did the feet,HEAD, feet HEAD, feet HEAD tumble across all that
'cushy dirt' and musta landed with my clavicle on a rock on one of the
bounces, very pretty break! hurts like a sonofabitch!!!! A corner worked
thankfully informed me that I landed on my head 5 times... feels about
right. Bike is mostly fine, only destroyed exhaust.
My Syed leathers did an awesome job, no nasty bruises or road rash, my brand new outta the box on Friday Shoei RF700 is destroyed but did an awesome job, not even a headache that I can remember, reason, I was too doped up on the Morphine from the broken in 2 places left clavicle (shoulder blade) and the Vicadin hasn't been allowed to wear off yet. Man this really hurts though!!!! Beth drove the truck back to Sunnyville and my best friend Eric Dye flew down last night and picked up the truck and is driving it, and all the gear and equipment back to Seattle. I'm back in seattle now. off work for a week. they still have me on vicadin but a lot stronger and not as much tylanol. very queezy and out of it... more later.
Other details on the crash / recovery here: