AMA Superbike

[gtrpimp76]

depending on next year's class structure, MM might not retire until after the 09 season. He wants to make sure Tommy Hayden is the new guy for RM Yosh/Zuk and the Zuk continues to dominate the class they race.

 

[bigoltool]

This breeds a lot of speculation of who's next at Yosh. Tommy hayden is now racked up after his wreck this weekend just as his brother Roger is. There is a picture of Earl hayden on the web the other day saying "these things do not happen in three's, these things do not happen in three's". There are several former factory riders out there without those coveted seats now. Guys like Aaron Yates, Jake Zemke and Matt Lynn (sort of)come to mind. But I have to wonder if they (Yosh) will do like they did with Spies and bring up some new blood. Guys like Ben Thompson, Jake Holden and Danny Eslick come to mind. All have had affiliations with Suzuki in one form or another. For that matter I wonder how long Don Sakakura will actually stick with it? He has a been a fixture at Yosh for like 40+(?) years now. If the series turns to doggy doo next year as a lot of people are forceasting then I could see a lot more old timers call it a day or move to another series outside the US. All speculation of course but it is interesting to think about.

 

[scoop08]

Who was the guy that hit Tommy Hayden? Is he ok?

 

[Eidolon20]

Good question about the other rider involved in Hayden's wreck. My GF and I were kind of amazed that they never mentioned anything about him after they collided.

 

[bigoltool]

Martin Cardenas was the other rider. Have't heard what his condition is though.

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Martin Cardenas was the other rider. Have't heard what his condition is though.

Broken left femur


The following is from Team M4 EMGO Suzuki...


Motorcycle racer Martin Cardenas of Team M4 EMGO Suzuki is undergoing surgery today (Monday) to place a rod in his broken left femur. Cardenas was injured in a crash on the opening lap of the Supersport race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California on Sunday. The Colombian lost control of his GSX-R600 and fell off, and his body hit Tommy Hayden and his Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600.

The cause of the racing incident is not yet clear and Martin has been under sedation much of the time since the crash. Cardenas did say that he didn't have any brakes and that he had made contact with another rider immediately before reaching the corner where he crashed.

AMA officials examined the bike after it came in on the crash truck and found that the front brake system was functional, with the lever intact and all brake pads in place; the brakes operated as they should when the lever was pulled.

Camera footage of the incident shows Cardenas trying to steer the bike off the inside of the track to avoid hitting other riders.

One possible explanation is that a tankslapper kicked the brake pads back into the calipers and thus the former 250cc Grand Prix World Championship racer got no braking response from pulling the lever as he approached the corner; he may have been unable to pump the lever quickly enough to avoid a crash.

"The AMA tech guys inspected the bike and its systems. Our brakes worked afterward," said Crew Chief Keith Perry. "Some onboard footage indicates that Martin was hit, but we don't know if that's what caused the crash or some if headshake might have made the pads go back into the calipers or something else. It's clear Martin grabbed the brake, but we don't know if the brakes didn't work or if he was just in the grass without traction. We're still trying to piece it all together."

Tommy Hayden was also injured in the crash. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki offers Tommy and the entire Hayden family sincere apologies as well as wishing him a full and swift recovery.

 

[bigoltool]

Ouch! Hope he's back in the game soon!

 

[OZZY]

i had heard about roger crashing at birmingham but never heard the extent of it until the supersport race. what exactly happened to him and how is he coming along? what happened to tommy hayden? i know he wasnt able to finish the race but what was the ruling on injuries for him?

 

[WuzzaCBXRider]

Broken ankle but Roger is worse

http://tommyhayden.com/

 

[Supergank1]

I WAS THERE!! For sunday's race 2 that is. Mladin was gapping Spies every lap. It swelled to as much as 4.3 seconds (my guesstimation at Start/Finish). Mladin would've won except: tire issue-Spies did a better job conserving, mistakes by Mladin--you could clearly see where he was having problems. I noticed Spies closed in at T5/6 horseshoe, T9, and quite possibly T20/21 (that turn was out of my sight). But that last pass at Start/finish you could see coming. I was able to see Turns 16 and 17 and Spies was right on his exhaust. BTW-Spies was hitting the rev-limiter going into T1 at 160+MPH and dragging a knee from the top of the banking to the T1 chicane. TV doesn't do it justice. It looks and sounds sooooo fuggin insane!! When I do trackdays at Auto Club Speedway, I'll hit T1 at 110 mph, and that already feels out of control. Those guys are hitting it at least another 40 to 50 mph faster. Spies rode hard, but Mladin rode harder, thus the reason he had tire degradation towards the late stages of the race.

That wasn't even the best race of the day either. Superstock and Supersport had some REAL close, intense racing too. 4 different riders in supersport had a chance to win while Zemke, Bostrom, and Herrin (fastest 17 year old I've ever seen) put on a GREAT show of racing.

you lucky dog..i went to a race last year at VIR and it was worth the price of admission just to watch those 2 guys fly around the track. tv never doe`s justice to a motorsports event(BIKES,NASCAR,NHRA,ETC) gotta see it live to fully appreciate it.