big LL pile up sequence shots

DC
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DC 8/5/2012 4:43pm
8/5/2012 4:43pm
Chris, thanks. I don't think the picture was disingenuous but the context changes with the angle... It's always good to talk about safety, it can only help. But it's hard to base these things on photos that don't tell the whole story.

Also, the Insider MX Photo from the start of the straight, on top of the first tabletop out of the banked turn, was taken before the flagstands were all out -- the yellow tape on lower left of jumps was there for dump trucks and infield stuff, and removed on Friday or Saturday; practice was Monday.

DC
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Jharper
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Jharper 8/6/2012 7:01am
8/6/2012 7:01am
Jharper wrote:
ha You know bolt on? Funny dude
stupidnslow wrote:
That Bolt-On guy is pretty awesome but sucks at taking pictures... As for the rest of the discussion, I have no real input. It was one...
That Bolt-On guy is pretty awesome but sucks at taking pictures...

As for the rest of the discussion, I have no real input. It was one of those things that happen in racing and it's not very fair to blame anyone.
ha dude, I know what you mean. I feel bad for the guy IN CHARGE of the flaggers. Durhamtown definitely had some sub-par flagging at times that was a headache to deal with on such a huge track. I can't imagine it at that track. There's a lot of responsibility on flaggers and people complain one way or the other. Flaggers are basically told to be in the track but not to be. They need to be people that can think practically for themselves for what the situation calls for. In this case the guy could have made himself more visible but he WAS doing his job. He just didn't have the forthought or possibly the time to get visible ahead of the wreck to point people out of the line of destruction.
Jweber763
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Jweber763 8/7/2012 2:48pm
8/7/2012 2:48pm
Hey guys im the rider that was the first ome down, the one in the white, my dad found this and im happy with some of your guys opinion, but not to pumped about some of the comments.

I was coming over the two singles before the jump with some good speed side by side with a guy and i let off on the face because i wanted to absorb the jump(im no scrubber) and my tires completely went out from under me and i landed in the soft stuff, i was ok as of then, i stareted crawling trying not to be hit and boom i was hit by the first guy, i was still with it as of then, so i kept crawling, the second crawl i got to i was immedietly hit again this time in the head and knocked completely out, after that i was told i was landed on 3 or 4 more times, i m very barried underbikes after the 2nd hit all i ddid was blink my eyes and i was in the medical trailer. It was a very scary experience, I have 5 broken ribs, grade 3 lacerated spleen, a bruised and small punctured lung, I stayed in the hospital in nashville a few days in pretty bad shape, but i will be ok, very thankful to be alive and for that to be the extent of my injuries.

I have my own comments for the flagger, the kid on the suzuki that landed on my head(the second rider) actually got ahold of me and appologized for what happened, and he actually said the flagger was not flagging as he was hitting the jump, what do you think about that DC? that was a good 5 seconds to when that kid hit me, that flagger should of had that flag ready watching my tires go out from under me on the jump, dont you all agree? I am lucky to be ALIVE. That flagger could of atleast prevented 3 guys landing on me...

And hey wtf where was the RED CROSS FLAG!!?? that usually makes people slow way down and roll something. I hear the flaggerr didnt even have one. How crazy is that?

Thanks guys, sorry had some venting to do..
Moto Soul Mag
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Moto Soul Mag 8/7/2012 9:14pm
8/7/2012 9:14pm Edited Date/Time 8/7/2012 9:28pm
I hate to be disrespectful- but this thread illustrates how many DUMBASSES are posting on Vitalmx.com right now.

You guys spent more time trying to publicly hang some volunteer flagger than you did actually addressing the situation. Or listening to the guy that was actually in the crash. Not to mention the injuries he sustained while you were punching your keyboards.

Personally, I was in fear for the life of J Weber who ended up posting in this thread-- you know, the guy that actually got plowed by multiple bikes in the PHOTOS you saw? I am glad the guy survived.

People on here are more concerned with spewing out their own personal nonsense than they are addressing any legitimate issue. I hate to say it, but c'mon, stop being [BLEEP]

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lostboy819 8/7/2012 9:53pm
8/7/2012 9:53pm Edited Date/Time 8/7/2012 10:25pm
Moto Soul Mag wrote:
I hate to be disrespectful- but this thread illustrates how many DUMBASSES are posting on Vitalmx.com right now. You guys spent more time trying to publicly...
I hate to be disrespectful- but this thread illustrates how many DUMBASSES are posting on Vitalmx.com right now.

You guys spent more time trying to publicly hang some volunteer flagger than you did actually addressing the situation. Or listening to the guy that was actually in the crash. Not to mention the injuries he sustained while you were punching your keyboards.

Personally, I was in fear for the life of J Weber who ended up posting in this thread-- you know, the guy that actually got plowed by multiple bikes in the PHOTOS you saw? I am glad the guy survived.

People on here are more concerned with spewing out their own personal nonsense than they are addressing any legitimate issue. I hate to say it, but c'mon, stop being [BLEEP]
What it illustrates is that racing is dangerous and if you crash it could be by yourself or you could be bottom of the pile or land on the pile. If you crash out front you have a good chance you will be hit if you fall on the back side of a jump you can be landed on. Bottom line is J Weber screwed up went down and paid the price and I am glad he is able to post about his crash even though he sounds like he will be moving pretty slow for a while, broken ribs suck !. Some people may say you crawled into the path of the rider who hit you some may say you you did the right thing by trying to crawl off the track (that is what I would have done ) but sometimes there is no good outcome no matter what choice you make.
lostboy819 8/7/2012 10:35pm
8/7/2012 10:35pm Edited Date/Time 8/7/2012 10:38pm
Jweber763 wrote:
Hey guys im the rider that was the first ome down, the one in the white, my dad found this and im happy with some of...
Hey guys im the rider that was the first ome down, the one in the white, my dad found this and im happy with some of your guys opinion, but not to pumped about some of the comments.

I was coming over the two singles before the jump with some good speed side by side with a guy and i let off on the face because i wanted to absorb the jump(im no scrubber) and my tires completely went out from under me and i landed in the soft stuff, i was ok as of then, i stareted crawling trying not to be hit and boom i was hit by the first guy, i was still with it as of then, so i kept crawling, the second crawl i got to i was immedietly hit again this time in the head and knocked completely out, after that i was told i was landed on 3 or 4 more times, i m very barried underbikes after the 2nd hit all i ddid was blink my eyes and i was in the medical trailer. It was a very scary experience, I have 5 broken ribs, grade 3 lacerated spleen, a bruised and small punctured lung, I stayed in the hospital in nashville a few days in pretty bad shape, but i will be ok, very thankful to be alive and for that to be the extent of my injuries.

I have my own comments for the flagger, the kid on the suzuki that landed on my head(the second rider) actually got ahold of me and appologized for what happened, and he actually said the flagger was not flagging as he was hitting the jump, what do you think about that DC? that was a good 5 seconds to when that kid hit me, that flagger should of had that flag ready watching my tires go out from under me on the jump, dont you all agree? I am lucky to be ALIVE. That flagger could of atleast prevented 3 guys landing on me...

And hey wtf where was the RED CROSS FLAG!!?? that usually makes people slow way down and roll something. I hear the flaggerr didnt even have one. How crazy is that?

Thanks guys, sorry had some venting to do..
Good to hear you are able to post about the crash. Sounds like to took a beating and it will be a while before you heal up. A couple things will happen now , you will heal up and go back to racing and have a badass racing story to tell or you will quit racing and have a badass racing story to tell. Either way its up to you , I have seen guys who race for years and then get one small injury and then quit and I have seen riders like Christophe Pourcel who have a spinal injury and still come back to the top level of the sport. I am sure the guys who hit you feel bad just as you would if you hit them, unfortunately when we line up our safety is not in just our hands but the other 39 riders on the tracks hands also and we are all trying to get from point A to point B as quick as possible so this stuff happens. again glad to see you are going to be OK and you should post some of your X rays because we all have some good ones.
DC
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DC 8/8/2012 4:21am
8/8/2012 4:21am
JWeber, I am sorry that you got hit in that pile-up, but I am glad that you are okay. Chain reaction crashes like this are an unfortunate part of racing and I wish I could snap my fingers and fix it but I can't.

But I can assure that contrary to what you heard the flagger DID have a red cross flag, and while I wasn't standing there on this incident, I know that flagger is very good and has been there for a long time, just like the guys who sit on the two big jumps after the finish line.

We have worked on a lighting system with Mr. LaRocco and others like SX has, and we used wheels-on-the-ground flag at the pro level for situations like this. We have not introduced it at Loretta Lynn's because it would be confusing out there with all of the medics and other stuff going on; and waving a red cross flag every time someone falls in a section would cause other problems.

We will work through this and see what preventative measures we can come up; anyone who has an idea or suggestion, please feel free to send them along: DC@mxsports.com

DC
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Jweber763
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Jweber763 8/8/2012 8:45am
8/8/2012 8:45am
Thanks for the concern everybody, i'll see what I can do about the X-Rays. Dc, I know I would have been hit at least a couple times but i know a few would of been prevented, which I know cant go back and change the past but I feel, and a lot of others im sure feel that a red cross flag was forsure needed in this incident, it was 100% necessary. But DC thanks for the wonderful event you help put on every year with many others behind you, i am truely blessed to be able to compete at the ranch and I will be back next year stronger than ever.
TDeath21
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TDeath21 8/8/2012 9:23am
8/8/2012 9:23am
I referee football and basketball, along with riding myself, and I believe being a flagger is somewhat similar, so I can relate to the flagger's situation. He is the only person on that track that can't make a mistake. Rider wads up and takes three guys with him? Racing incident. Flagger doesn't do what you think he should have? Terrible flagger. We get to see it in a photo sequence. For him, this all happened so fast. Fans in general love to blame an official for any mishap on the court, field, or track. Let's not forget the mistake the riders or players make to cause these things in the first place. Maybe there was more he could have done. I can't tell from the pictures. Maybe there was more the other riders could have done too. Ever think of that? Maybe seeing the yellow flag and slowing down a little bit? It's the same way in the pros. Yellow flags seem to be meaningless now. Nobody obeys them. They only obey the red cross flag. For those of you saying the red cross flag should have been out there within five seconds, that's not a lot of time to decipher the situation and determine a red cross flag is needed. Weber knows it was his fault he crashed in the first place, and every rider knows the risk when they step on the track. Judging from eye witness accounts and the photos, and knowing how fast things happen, I personally don't think the flagger could have done much more than he did.
newmann
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newmann 8/8/2012 11:03am
8/8/2012 11:03am
Was the flagger able to see what was going on on the backside of the jump from where he was positioned? The heigth of the flagger stand can't really be seen from the photos. Would it have been better placed closer to the actual jump? Hindsight....

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