Copyright 2006, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. Kawasaki factory rider Tommy Hayden is battered, bruised, nursing a swollen left hand but otherwise uninjured in spite of crashing into a wall fronted by tires during AMA team testing at the newly-repaved Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Wednesday, June 7. ?I?m alright,? Hayden told Roadracingworld.com by telephone from his Kentucky home Friday. ?I?m beat up a little bit, nothing major, but I definitely took a major hit.? Hayden said the crash started in turn nine, a left-hander that exits over a crest/wheelie hill and leads to a double right-hander. ?Somehow I got both wheels off the ground when I changed directions,? said Hayden. ?When I landed, I guess the front wheel was cocked because it ripped the bars out of my hands. It was slapping the handlebars hard enough that it broke the frame. I couldn?t get a hold of the bars and ran straight off the track. I was headed straight for the wall, so I jumped off. I still went into the tires hard.? Hayden said he was brought back to the track?s medical center but took the time to change into street clothes before he was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. ?I hit my head, so I was a little dizzy,? said Hayden. ?My left hand, nothing?s broke, but it swelled up real bad, stretched some of the ligaments in there. I?ve got two screws in there from an old injury and it still bothers me.? Hayden said he couldn?t ride today but when asked about his ability to ride in next week?s races at Miller Motorsports Park, ?A lot can happen in a week. We?ll just have to see.? In regards to what he thought of the repaving of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Hayden said, "That was a big let down, you could say. I guess we got spoiled with Miller. The track's (Mid-Ohio) new surface is inconsistent with sealer down in the turns and some slick spots. It's not a huge deal, just disappointing because it's new. And the curbs are definitely dangerous. "I also found it strange that no one representing the AMA was there. I mean, it's right in their backyard (AMA's headquarters is in Pickerington, Ohio, about two hours away by car), new surface, the track wanted to talk to us and it was just us (riders and teams) and the track."
"And the curbs are definitely dangerous" He hits a wall and the curbs are what are dangerous??? The curbing is one of the challenges of the track just like turns and hills. The sharp angle curbs are only on the inside of the turns and almost all bike crashes are to the outside of a turn. Now at MO anyone who hits the inside curbing may need to rethink how to go through that turn. I believe the reason for this style of curbs is to keep cars off them and away from the inside of the turns (where bikes like to be). What I do not understand is MO experimenting with different sealers on their just repave track surface.