BAJA 500 Accident Moto vs TT

[MELE VALENCIA]

 

[Pee Wee]

Bike going backwards?

 

[Bricoop]

365x finished.

Makes me ask, if a racer misses a VCP, what should they do? Go back and pick it up? No relation to this incident, just curious,

 

[ndvalium]

Bike going backwards?

Going forward. Stopped on the side looking backwards from what it appears. Herbst appears to slide over to the left in the dust likely having no idea there was even contact.

 

[MELE VALENCIA]

video

Kyle. W. Parry (Moto driver)

This incident fractured my hip, bruised my knee, leg and spine as well took all the skin off my ass. He didnt stop and still has not tried to contact me

 

[RYAN COHEE]

Simple fix to the issues and safety have the bikes start the day before.

 

[TRAVISD]

have you called them? I guarentee they had no idea they hit you.

 

[BANNEDFROMBAJA]

THIS IS WHAT THE GUY THAT GOT HIT POSTED..... (TLDR they settled it at the finish)


Ok so let me take a min and update everyone on what happened during the race....... just know that I'm ok. Very banged up and sore ...... but so thankful I'm alive and was able to finish my section.

So I was around RM 315-320 going up a steep silt hill when the bike just died , because if the angle of the hill and being about 90%the way up I was in a bad spot to try and get the bike started ........ another biker was coming up so I moved into the left side ruts. He went by then I heard that truck just screaming through the mountains...... I could see him coming from hot 3 or 4 miles out. I kicked and kicked and kicked but was unable to get the bike fired, so I pushed the bike off the course. As the truck started his uphill climb he saw me, he started to move to the right, when he was 10' in front of me he put is foot to the floor and the truck swapped right towards me. I was stuck and pinned between the truck and bike. I took the entire brunt of the hit to my left leg, ass and back. I remember the initial hit then woke up down the side of the mountain upside down and pretzeled. The driver did not stop and as I played there I started going through the motions...... I can feel my toes, I can feel my fingers and so on. After roughly 5 or 10mins I finally got up and got my bearings found the bike and proceeded to get it back on course. Once I got it started I rode back down the hill and saw another biker coming. I stopped him let him know what had happened and asked him when he got out to find my team and let them know and that I would be making my way out. It was a long and rough 25miles to finish my section
We had a meeting with score officials and the driver of the truck after the podium and things will be settled.

 

[BigBlue&Goldie]

What was the start gap this year between the bikes and trucks?

 

[stewwalker]

When will the Herbst stop hitting people?

 

[Goober]

video

Kyle. W. Parry (Moto driver)

This incident fractured my hip, bruised my knee, leg and spine as well took all the skin off my ass. He didnt stop and still has not tried to contact me

Is the video working for anyone?

 

[RedRide]

When will the Herbst stop hitting people?

When will people stop standing on the outside corner of a race track?

 

[cynicwanderer]

looks like a bad spot to stall your bike. was the e-start not working ? I have a little experience with getting caught by trucks on a moto, and I will always stop and find a place to set out for a while off course _before_ the trucks catch up with me and wait for all the leaders to pass. I may lose some time, but at this point I'm not really in the "race" anymore and am just just finishing, so the lost time really doesn't matter much if it means I finish alive and unhurt. these guys are racing, and frankly, it's no time for amateur hour.

 

[dezert_nerd]

looks like a bad spot to stall your bike. was the e-start not working ? I have a little experience with getting caught by trucks on a moto, and I will always stop and find a place to set out for a while off course _before_ the trucks catch up with me and wait for all the leaders to pass. I may lose some time, but at this point I'm not really in the "race" anymore and am just just finishing, so the lost time really doesn't matter much if it means I finish alive and unhurt. these guys are racing, and frankly, it's no time for amateur hour.

Yea no reason to keep racing if you’re caught by the trucks and cars. Last 100 miles of the 2016 V2R I spent looking over my shoulder just to avoid being in the way of faster vehicles.

 

[Bro_Gill]

You guys need more info. He was on a very steep hill climb with a dead bike and it wouldn't start. He was wrestling it around to go back down the hill to get out of the ruts and off the course. Then this happened. And I don't think Herbst was a front runner at that point. I doubt Herbst didn't see him before he got there. Why is it only the bike guys fault for getting hit?

 

[trailready]

Hate to be an armchair commentator but I rode bikes in the 70s and my Truck is 8'2" wide and we "touch" just about everything we pass.
" I heard that truck just screaming through the mountains...... I could see him coming from hot 3 or 4 miles out." Under these conditions I absolutely will lean my bike up against the bank and step a few feet away until the screaming truck racing for the lead goes by.

 

[cynicwanderer]

You guys need more info. He was on a very steep hill climb with a dead bike and it wouldn't start. He was wrestling it around to go back down the hill to get out of the ruts and off the course. Then this happened. And I don't think Herbst was a front runner at that point. I doubt Herbst didn't see him before he got there. Why is it only the bike guys fault for getting hit?

well, don't get caught in technical sections, there is no room.

Hate to be an armchair commentator but I rode bikes in the 70s and my Truck is 8'2" wide and we "touch" just about everything we pass.
" I heard that truck just screaming through the mountains...... I could see him coming from hot 3 or 4 miles out." Under these conditions I absolutely will lean my bike up against the bank and step a few feet away until the screaming truck racing for the lead goes by.

I think in this situation (immobilized bike trying to go backwards on tight technical uphill), I would have just got off the bike and waited until the cluster of trucks passed and then tried to get my bike (what's left of it) going again.

people seem to think that big trophy trucks have all this precision control to it, while in reality they shimmy around on lose soil, bounce off rocks and want to drop into the same ruts that the bike is in. on top of that, the driver has no visibility on where exactly the wheels are planted and he is focused on what line he'd like to be taking ahead.

Moto vs. TT only has one outcome, and it doesn't matter really who is at fault, the biker is going to get hurt if there is contact. it's like the argument of the harley rider on the road that got creamed by the soccer mom in the SUV who pulled out in front, "it was her fault, she was on the phone"... as a moto rider, you gotta know what fight you're not going to win.

[EDIT]oh, and what's worse is that even if the first truck sees you and manages to slip by you without contact, the second truck might actually not see you at all if there is any amount of dust that got kicked up by the first truck.

 

[dhjeepgeek]

Yea no reason to keep racing if you’re caught by the trucks and cars. Last 100 miles of the 2016 V2R I spent looking over my shoulder just to avoid being in the way of faster vehicles.

Not everyone just quits. It's the goal to finish. People crawl across the finish line. It's Baja.

 

[Honda48X]

It was said. The Moto rider saw him 3 or 4 miles out. Pretty simple to me. Get the hell off the course. Leave the bike and go 5 or 10 feet from it.

 

[bajaxp]

Handlebars and steering wheels are great by themselves, but make a horrible cocktail when mixed.