Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Contrary to what a medical update issued by Daytona International Speedway said, three-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin is still at Halifax Medical Center.

According to Mladin’s Crew Chief, Peter Doyle, Mladin was still in the hospital at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and Mladin called Doyle on his cell phone from the hospital as Doyle spoke to a reporter.

Mladin highsided his Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750 Friday morning and was taken to the Daytona Infield Care Center for X-rays. The X-rays showed what could have been bone fragments or pavement debris in the open wound on Mladin’s left elbow. Mladin was then transported to Halifax to have an orthopedic surgeon examine the injury further. The physician performed a surgical procedure at approximately 7:30 p.m. Friday evening to clean debris out of the wound and found “a couple of bone fragments” and that “the sack of fluid around the elbow” had been ruptured, said Doyle.

According to his Crew Chief, Mladin had good movement in his injured arm and hand following the procedure, but stayed the night in the hospital.

Daytona International Speedway issued a medical report at approximately 11:00 a.m. Saturday morning saying that Mladin had been released from the hospital. But not only has Mladin not been released, Mladin and his team are still working hard to try to get him released, with no guarantee of success.

Doyle said that part of the problem is in actually getting ahold of and convincing the doctor assigned to Mladin to let him go; Mladin has only seen the doctor twice, including the surgery.

Doyle said that when Mladin’s doctor was reached early Saturday, he said that Mladin should stay in the hospital to receive more antibiotics and refused to release him.

Doyle said that he feared Mladin had been lost in the stream of injured street riders that have flooded Halifax during Bike Week.

As Doyle spoke, Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki Team Manager Don Sakakura was asking doctors at the Speedway to contact Mladin’s physician and try to arrange his release. Mladin’s team is also lining up physical therapy sessions and pain-killing injections in case Mladin can ride in Sunday’s Superbike classic.

Doyle said that Mladin’s condition was improving but that Mladin was sore and the fingers on his left hand were swollen.