Snowcross races in Barrie Ontario

[Syrus]

I went to the Barrie Ontario Snowcross races today with a few buddy's. It was pretty good, but half way threw the 800cc class race, I was standing close to the fence... about 6 feet from the track and there was a camera man taking pictures as the sleds came off the jump. Out of nowhere this one guy over shot the jump, and didnt land very smooth, lost control and hit the camera man head on. Sent the camera man flying in the air. By the looks of what i saw, the front of the sled hooked under his chin and pulled him about 10 feet in the air backwards. He wasnt moving, then i saw the rider get up holding his wrist like i was hurt or broken. Then i look over the the guy that got hit, was on the ground dead.

They brought the ambulance over, and tried CPR, but i dont think they revived him. Im sure his neck broke or would have broken as soon if he tried to move on his own will. When they were loading him into the ambulance his arm was dangling down off the stretcher, and that was my hint he was dead :/ He was very pale. It was all a big shock cause it happend so fast... They had to cancel the races for the rest of the day for the cops to inspect the death etc..

I have pictures of the races, and of the accident, not very good ones but i got some, and of him going into the ambulance, Ill try and find someone to host them. Other than the accident, the races were good, and it was some good contact.

[Mxjunkie]

wow thats horrible :(

[Quad18star]

Damn ..... thats chitty . I've seen a few close calls at the races before ..... they let these camera people stand way to close to the track ... but then again , you don't really expect something like this to happen . I'm sure the info about the guy will be released on the CSRA website soon .

Other than this tragic event , how did the races go? How did the Factory Recreation / Royal Distributing team do ?? The Vandolders are doing pretty good this year .... Danielle had tough luck at the races here in Sudbury but she still managed to get a good standing . Keep an eye on Joey Seguin .... he's got great potential for holding a national plate in the enxt few years . Mike is doing awesome also ... he's been hanging it out with Ian Hayden all year . Wayne Legge is doing a great job at tunning the sleds one again this year .

[Honda4trax250x]

You do not have to host the pics anymore, you can now attach them to your posts.;)

[Syrus]

Originally posted by Honda4trax250x
You do not have to host the pics anymore, you can now attach them to your posts.;)

Alright i didnt know that, ill attach them when i get home tonight.

[Quad18star]

Here's the article out of the Barrie Examiner . Tragic event for sure .

Snowcross official killed at race
Out-of-control sled crashes into flagger during Barrie race event

BY ROBIN MACLENNAN
Local News - Monday, February 07, 2005 @ 07:00

A track official was killed Sunday when a runaway snowmobile crashed into him during the Canadian National Snowcross Championships in Barrie.

“We had a racer during the final race come off his sled,” explained Grant Reeves, spokesperson for the Canadian Snowcross Racers Association. “The sled continued on, hitting one of the track officials.... It was an absolute freak accident.”

Hundreds of snowmobilers were at the race, the fourth of five rounds.
The fifth and final leg of the championship is scheduled to take place in Craighurst on April 2 and 3.

The official, identified only as a 38-year-old man, was taken by ambulance to Royal Victoria Hospital, where he died. His name was not released, pending notification of next of kin.

“He was manning his position on the track,” Reeves explained. “He was a flagger and he was doing his job.”

The crash happened at about 2 p.m. on the stretch of track closest to the stands, ending the competition and sending spectators home early.

Barrie police and accident reconstructionists were at the scene. The coroner’s office joined the investigation and a post-mortem is scheduled for this morning.

Reeves called the racer involved in the crash “experienced.”

“He came off his sled,” Reeves said. “It’s a normal part of racing.”

Track officials and CSRA workers later gathered for a sombre meeting at The Event Centre, where people associated with the race cried and hugged.

“We’re really one big family,” Reeves said, refusing to talk about the dead official. “That’s all we’re going to say.”

[Syrus]

Ill get pics up in a second

[Syrus]

Heres the man who died on the stretcher.

[Syrus]

Heres the rider down holding his wrist 3 seconds after his sled hit the flag man, he didnt even know what happend. You can barely see him, but hes in the organge coat.

[Syrus]

Anyhow, here some racing pictures i got, first time using the camera, so dont flame, just gettin used to it.

[Syrus]

Stright away kicker, Team Cat in the lead.

[Quad18star]

The rider .... was he the one on a Polaris IQ ??

[Syrus]

.

[Syrus]

In this picture u can see the guy standing by the tract, hes the same guy that got hit by the sled and was killed.

[Syrus]

Good battle for 1st place

[Syrus]

..

[Quad18star]

They let the crowd be too close to the track . They shouldn't allow anyone from the crowd within 50 feet of the track .... when they ahd the races here in Sudbury , I swear if anyone lost control of their sled at the finish line jump , there's no way in hell a small wooden fence would stop a 500 LBS sled that's travelling at a good rate of speed .

This was a freak accident however from the sounds of it . These officials and track personel do this almost every weekend . You can see in the picture that the flagger was wearing protective gear ... his Tek Vest ... but that won't do much for your head and neck like you said it hit him . My prayers go out to his family and friends and all the racing community .

[Syrus]

...

[Syrus]

THis was there foresale..

[Syrus]

THis was also foresale, but they suck for racing, the snowhawk team had 3 riders, and all 3 came in last place. One snowhawk rider had this TRICK hawk, and he smashed a jump HUGE, over shot it so badly he jumped over like 3 riders, it was nuts. He landed it and wipped out on the next turn :/ But it was the best jump i saw all day.

[I-7]

Thats horrible, my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family :(

[Syrus]

I love the rear end, awsome look to that ******.

[Quad18star]

Joey Segan ...

http://www.factoryrecreation.com/images/Racing/202OwenSound04.jpg

http://www.factoryrecreation.com/images/Racing/202Huntsville04.jpg

[Syrus]

ok guys i dont wanna be a post whore, so if u want more pictures, pm me and ill post the rest.

[Quad18star]

A few more of Joey ...... keep an eye on him in the next few years .... lots of potential for being the next Canadian Champion .

Royal Distributing / Factory Recreation Pro Xtreme Team
http://www.factoryrecreation.com/images/Racing/202London04.jpg
http://www.factoryrecreation.com/images/Racing/57AG3578.jpg
http://www.factoryrecreation.com/images/Racing/57AG9463.jpg

[Syrus]

Originally posted by Quad18star
They let the crowd be too close to the track . They shouldn't allow anyone from the crowd within 50 feet of the track .... when they ahd the races here in Sudbury , I swear if anyone lost control of their sled at the finish line jump , there's no way in hell a small wooden fence would stop a 500 LBS sled that's travelling at a good rate of speed .

This was a freak accident however from the sounds of it . These officials and track personel do this almost every weekend . You can see in the picture that the flagger was wearing protective gear ... his Tek Vest ... but that won't do much for your head and neck like you said it hit him . My prayers go out to his family and friends and all the racing community .


Yes it was so freak, it happend so fast, and no one really rushed to him, its was odd, it didnt look like he was hurt as bad as it turned out.

As for the question u had earlier, the rider was not driving a polaris, he was racing a Rev.

[Quad18star]

Keep posting your pics that you have . LOL .

Do you know who the rider was ?? I thought I had recognized the rider from last weekend riding a Polaris .

[Syrus]

No#37 or 37# im not to sure, i cant make out the no# on his back. look it up, see if anything matches up quadstar18. He was driving an all yellow Rev. thats all i remember sorry dude.

Anyways check out this roost :D

[Syrus]

Ok I just found this, if u look at that silver pole, there is a sled in the air behind it, and thats the guy just before he landed and fell off his sled that hit the guy that died. Bad picture, but it does justice.

[Quad18star]

Just from that picture , you can tell he's nose high . When you're nose high like that and come damn it bucks you off like crazy . Was it the pro 600 class ?? Looks like Ian Hayden comming up behind him .

[Quad18star]

Taken from the CSRA website .


A SAD DAY FOR CANADIAN SNOWCROSS RACING

For Immediate Release:

(Barrie, Ontario-February 7, 2005)The CSRA National Snocross Event held in Barrie this past weekend had an unfortunate miss-hap as the event took a sad turn for the worst during the Sunday afternoon racing program.

This past weekend’s CSRA National Snocross Event held at the Barrie Event Center had an unfortunate turn of events. During a Pro 440 stock final, the CSRA lost one of our own through an accident that took place during the National finals on Sunday afternoon.

Oliver Polok, “Oli”, a caution flag-man working one of the turns of this weekend’s snow cross course was struck by a sled when a rider came off the sled near Oli’s location track side. The un-manned sled struck the official, resulting in him taking the brunt of the hit to the chest. The sheer impact and force of the collision wound up tossing him several feet from his safety flagger’s position. Onsite EMT and emergency medics attended to the incident prior to the injured official being transported to Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

“Oli” who was an experienced staff member, has been with the CSRA for four years, and working the events each weekend was something that he loved to do at every opportunity. Oliver was a fundamental part of the CSRA family and was always a cheerful sole to both the staff and riders alike on the CSRA circuit.

Oli is survived by his mother, sister, and fiancé’ Amanda Martin.

He will be sadly missed and forever remembered by his family, all his friends, fellow workers at CP Rail, and all the CSRA staff, and Racers.

Oli…You will always be in our hearts. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Funeral information not available at press time; details will follow.

[Quad18star]

I just found out , that the rider was a young guy by the name of Justin Walesky from Millington Michigan . He is a great rider for his age .... I believe he is only 16 years old . I heard the announcers say last weekend , that he is most likely going to be the next champion but I'm still pulling for Segan .

[Syrus]

His wrist/arm looked kinda hurtin the way he was holding it. He must feel like ****, since he killed someone like that. Props for both boys..

[Quad18star]

I'm sure he does feel bad , but you can't blame yourself for soemthing like this . It's a freak accident .... guys get off the sleds all the time and this flagger was in the wrong place at the wrong time . :(