Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

First Person/Opinion

By Melissa Berkoff

I was watching the Formula Xtreme race on Sunday at Road Atlanta from the hill overlooking turn 10a and the braking area at the end of the back straightaway. Jason Pridmore had just completed a stop-and-go penalty for jumping the first start and was running behind the entire field. As he came down the hill into the braking area for 10a, I saw smoke start pouring off of his bike. Recognizing oil smoke, I yelled “Red flag!”

Pridmore straightened up and made a beeline for the gravel trap on the outside of the corner as the bike began fishtailing, and continued to slide until he left the pavement. He rode it into the gravel trap where it sank so deep he was able to dismount and leave it standing upright. I looked at the flag station. There was no red flag, or even an oil flag, displayed.

I then started jogging down the hill to talk to Pridmore. Zigzagging in between all the spectators and the terraces on the hill, I made it down to where Pridmore was just as Ben Spies and Jake Zemke began tumbling off the track after crashing in Pridmore’s oil. Pridmore turned to look and said, “Didn’t they see my motor blow up?” We looked down at his boot, which was covered with oil. Then they finally threw the red flag.

From the time I yelled red flag to the time Spies and Zemke crashed, I estimate about 45 seconds passed. It was obvious to me from my position on top of the hill that there was oil down all over the braking area. There was no mistaking the smoke pouring off of Pridmore’s motor, and the resulting out-of-control attitude of the bike sliding around on oil, for tire smoke from a locked rear brake. Pridmore was all alone on the track at that moment so all attention should have been on him. I was incredulous that race control waited until the leaders crashed before they stopped the race. When the clean-up crew finished putting down oil dry on the oil line, the line stretched from the first brake marker all the way through the corner to the spot where Pridmore ran off the track.