I am pretty sure my friend Joey was the first to go down with several behind him going down as well. Joey is in UAB right now after being transported with the following injuries, shattered elbow with various new titanium hardware in the elbow and lower arm, (Radius/ Ulna), pulmonary contusion, lateral fractures of ribs, 4,5, and 6, and a pneumothorax requiring a chest tube that should come out today or tomorrow. Hoping no one else was injured, and I know Joey hates that he or his bike could have caused damage and or injury to others. I plan to put his bike up on the stand today to see if the motor went, causing the whole chain of events, (this was what I was hearing from others while packing up). Joey just knows that the rear went suddenly as if there was something on the track in turn 11 and thinks the debris flag was being shown in turn 8. His leathers were covered in oil when we cut them off in the ambulance, but that may have happened as a result of the crash. If anyone can provide some feedback as to what happened or video footage, that would be great, and again I wanted to pass on regrets from Joey to those involved in the incident. I am sure he will post up with more information when he is feeling a little better. He underwent surgery yesterday and when I left him was hitting the Dilaudid demand pump like a Jeopardy contestant. Thanks - Michael Julian
Joey was the only transport... All 4 other riders and bikes came back on the crash truck.. Broome was a little stiff getting out but later was fine AFAIK.. None of the bikes were rideable... 1 st trip with 2 then we stuffed 3 on the trailer to get the show back on the road...
I was following behind Chris broome and saw him lose the front really fast and gravel from the pit fly into the air along with a cloud of dust. I was about 150 feet behind him. I checked up as fast as I could and still slid through the high speed left/right. I looked behind me and saw at least two more bikes loose it in the exact same spot. Definitely oil in the middle/exit of that section. Craziest thing I have seen on the track in my 100 plus track days. I was one of the lucky ones
I was just behind Andrew. It was slippery in the second part of the S turn - no question about it there was fluid on the track. So glad that more riders didn't crash and that there wasn't more/worse injuries. I almost lost the bike with one hand off the bars but managed to stay upright, I could picture myself trying to tell Palella how I threw the R1 down the road during a red flag with my hand up, blah blah blah. Happy that didn't happen. Still I can't remember ever seeing an on track mishap quite like this one.
It was insane. That was the first time I'd ever went down in oil. It was weird. No warning, no noise, no chatter, nothing. I leaned over and that was it. I saw the first couple of bikes flying through the gravel and saw the yellow flag. I tried to slow down, but I was already coming into the chicane and didn't want to check up too fast with people behind me. As soon as I leaned over to the right on exit, the bike flew out from under me. I spun around and was sliding on my ass with my head off the ground to keep from scratching my helmet. There was another rider and bike sliding right behind me and I was worried I was going to get run over by the sliding bike. My neck and back was sore, but just pulled/strained muscles, nothing too serious. But what really sucks is that was only my 3rd time riding my new 675R. Now it looks like crap and needs new parts, including a new exhaust because the can is ruined.
Sorry to hear you went down as well. I have been over Joey's bike with a fine tooth comb, and everything is intact. I originally thought a loose water line on the front of the motor could have caused it, but closer inspection revealed that it came off after the water pump on the right side impacted the ground after going end over end in the grass. The motor is intact with no indications that it let loose with any fluids, so the oil must have been on the track prior to his arrival. I was hoping someone had a Go Pro video, (usually one pops up within a week or so)
One of my friends was like 5th or so bike behind, didn't go down. He's got video but you can't tell a cause from it.
I saw a bike in the gravel with black fluid (which I assume was oil) all over the side of it, and there was alot of smoke. There was definitely fluid on the track. All of us that went through it wiped out. But at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter. It is what it is. Shit happens. I'm just glad everyone was (relatively) ok. Bikes/parts can be replaced.
I have the stock system off mine (2014) sitting in a bin. You can borrow/have it if you want. Let me know if you want me to bring it to road a.
Dayum. Michael, best wishes to your friend's recovery....as someone who blew a motor last month on NCM, I'm so glad this didn't happen to either myself or anyone else behind me...
Being one of the faster Novices (no ego, already been told to move up to INT), I was the next session after your kablooie and I had never encountered oil dry before. It was intimidating, not sure if the tires would grip.
Excellent learning point. Depending on the spill, oil doesn't have to be that scary. In this case, I found the best line to be straight through the oil dry. In the following session, I did not hear a single report of lost traction due to the previous incident. After just a few laps next session, the fluids seemed totally gone.
Oh yes, it was an eye opening 'sperience! But after about the 2nd lap around, I was riding over it like it was dry asphalt, because it WAS! It had rained that day, and the oil dry dried up that section.