Round 4 AMCC Champs 7 March

[cmoore]

The marshal hit by the bike was standing on the track waving the chequered flag.......the crash happened 50-75m before the start finish line........the bike flipped and then landed back on the track and ran riderless towards the start finish line and hit the fence next to the marshal, bounced off and then fell over on her feet/legs….she was very lucky. She then ran across the track to see if the rider was ok….?

[MSTRS:Me]

The marshal hit by the bike was standing on the track waving the chequered flag.......

Well there you go. Who would have thought such a thing possible...
And before anyone says something like 'That's the way we've always done it at Puke' (I have no idea...just guessing) it shouldn't matter what track it is. There is a right way and a wrong way, amply illustrated by this incident.

[Peter Smith]

for all you guys who did race, thanks, i have marshalled a few times out there and this was my first time just having a wander and watching...it was very cool, it is a shame more people don't go to watch. I found everyone i talked to very freindly and interesting. some of the racing was a bit confusing with the mix of classes....and the first post classic senior race was being led by number 28 with one lap to go... and then niumber 15 won......i still don't know what happened to #28....

I am #28. I was given the white flag twice, when I came up over the hill the yellow flags were waving but there wasn't a checkered flag for me just marshals walking across the track.

By the way, my bike blew the 10amp ignition fuse in the last race, not a blown motor as mentioned by the dubious comentator. First DNF in 2 years.

[Peter Smith]

A big thanks to the AMCC for running a great meeting.

[prettybillie]

Let me put a few things to rest here.

My injuries were my fault. I was standing well out on the start / finish line with the red flag out - not on the track at all - concerned the riders coming full tit over the hill were going to be in trouble as the bike was still upright on two wheels. I decided where to stand and take full responsibility for it. My thoughts were this could be a very dangerous accident if those riders don't see the red flag! There was no chequered flag out!

This was nothing to do with the Puke track or the AMCC - totally a decision that I made to make sure riders are safe. I was standing out of the way of the bike, however it changed direction at the last second. Please do not take attack on either AMCC or the Puke track as I take full responsibility for what happened, but my opinion was if I didn't stand somewhere where the red flag was going to be seen immediately over the hill, it could have been worse.

Hey but don't let the truth get in the way of a good story by any means!

[Rob Taylor]

This was a well run event,Thanks amcc.We will be at Rd 5 .....As Prettybillie said ,is how it went down.... But dont let the bull shit stop now,its nearly over ya head!!!!

[Peter Smith]

Let me put a few things to rest here.

My injuries were my fault. I was standing well out on the start / finish line with the red flag out - not on the track at all - concerned the riders coming full tit over the hill were going to be in trouble as the bike was still upright on two wheels. I decided where to stand and take full responsibility for it. My thoughts were this could be a very dangerous accident if those riders don't see the red flag! There was no chequered flag out!

This was nothing to do with the Puke track or the AMCC - totally a decision that I made to make sure riders are safe. I was standing out of the way of the bike, however it changed direction at the last second. Please do not take attack on either AMCC or the Puke track as I take full responsibility for what happened, but my opinion was if I didn't stand somewhere where the red flag was going to be seen immediately over the hill, it could have been worse.

Hey but don't let the truth get in the way of a good story by any means!

Get well soon sweety, I don't fancy some bloke touching me up on the dummy grid.

[Gremlin]

Nice to err... meet you Peter... not the way you probably wanted, but I was the marshal that talked to you, asked you to go to the inside of the track etc. Sounds like you at least found the problem quickly

[Biggles08]

...it was very cool, it is a shame more people don't go to watch.

Maybe there should be free entry to club rounds for spectators...just a 'left field' thought. No other club in NZ charges spectators for club rounds and seem to get good crowd support.... :-)

[Dreama]

Thumbs up AMCC ... it was a great meeting. First one I've got to for a couple of years now and loved it. Great weather, great atmosphere and awesome racing. I was unaware of any of the stuff that went on as alluded to in this thread, but I applaud all the officals, marshalls and helpers for their fantastic efforts and committment in putting on these meetings and allowing the rest of us juvinials to play on the race track.
Looking forward to round 5.

[MSTRS:Me]

... I decided where to stand and take full responsibility for it. ...

Your experience should have now taught you why doing such a thing is not recommended. Freak accidents can, and do, happen and an exposed marshal is at huge risk. Everything we do as marshals must have this risk factored in, and appropriate measures taken to minimise that risk.
My issue in all of this is what happened at Taupo...being told to stand directly trackside...telling you why I wouldn't...and then being ignored (until I swore a blind streak...). Now you know why.
As I said before, I don't know Puke, never been there, but I am confused... A bike has gone down, presumably just over a little hill and out of sight of approaching bikes. How does a flaggie get hit by that bike, if the flaggie is between it and those approaching bikes?

[Peter Smith]

Nice to err... meet you Peter... not the way you probably wanted, but I was the marshal that talked to you, asked you to go to the inside of the track etc. Sounds like you at least found the problem quickly

Hi Gremlin,
Thanks for your help.
I really apreciate you guys and girls who give up your weekends so nutters like me can take our bikes out for a thrash.
Are you going to Hampton this weekend? Call in and say hi, if your gonna be there.

[cmoore]

im fairly sure of what i saw!!, but it doesn't really matter, I am happy you are ok, ! certainly don't think i was talking crap and i believe i said the marshaling at Puki is very good...since i have done it there a number of times...to the riders...yeah the marshals do give up a day (and more) to ensure the safety of the riders..and i know personally that it would be cool to see more of the riders, even a wave on the run to the pits would be nice!!

[glice]

Was there anyone taking photos?

[k1w160]

Just got told about this thread today at Hampton Downs, so now is a good time to get the facts out.

I was coming over the hill on the last lap and decided to try a passing move on the outside of the rider in front of me as I could carry a lot more speed over the top that he did.
Unfortunatley he drifted wide and as my wheel was already on the outside of his rear wheel the only option was to roll off and let it run wide (otherwise I would have taken his back wheel out and we both would be down). I hit the beginning of the concrete strip on the outside which has a depression in the dirt due to cars running over that area and as a result it was like hitting a curb at 155kph.
I saw the piece of wheel fly off and the handle bars were vibrating wildly - it was very obvious that I was a passenger on an out of control bike. It took about one second to decide that grass was softer than the track and I bailed out (unknown to me - the back wheel was also flat die to a bent and fractured rin and split tyre - also a result of the impact).




With out 100kgs of rider and gear on top of it, the bike regainedsome stability and carried on.

20:20 hindsite is a wonderful thing, but I would do the same thing again as the other possibilities of bodies and bikes all over the track could have been the outcome if I had tried to ride it out.
Today I heard soeone saying that the front wheel was faulty - nope, it just got whacked at 155kph by a solid object and cried enough.


Pure racing incident, nobodies fault .but mine (that's one racing crash in 14 years), and I'll be back next season.
Injuries - a sprained thumb and a buggered helmet where I bounced off the armco, and a few bruises.

All the best

Graham