The List: Ten Really Big and Costly Crashes
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 | 9:45 PM
Developed in the USA and tested on the toughest tracks in the world, Maxima Racing Oils are proven to increased horsepower, prolong engine life and offer unsurpassed engine cleanliness. Maxima has been committed to MX & SX for over 30 years and is used by more factory teams, engine builders and racers. Know you’re running the best with championship winning products. Maxima – Race Grade Formulas.
Tweet
Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Share
Comment
Email
PrintJames Stewart’s big crash on Saturday night in Daytona could ultimately prove very costly. Instead of gaining three points on Monster Energy AMA Supercross point’s leader Ryan Villopoto, he finished ninth, a 15-point swing in the series due to that crash. If he comes back to win the title, Daytona will be just a footnote in history. If he doesn’t, the crash will be remembered forever.
What are some of the most costly crashes of the last decade? We tackle that for The List.
10. Tim Ferry at the 2003 MXdN: Zolder, Belgium hosted the 2003 des Nations, and Team USA wanted back into victory lane after skipping the 2001 and 2002 events due to post-9/11 travel fears and the Competition Park cancellation fiasco. In ’03, Tim Ferry went down on the second lap of the first practice and tore a ligament in his thumb. Red Dog, of course, gave it all he had the next day, anyway, and finished tenth—amazing considering the injury. But when Ryan Hughes popped a chain, it ended all hope for Team USA, even though Ricky Carmichael won the race in the one-moto format. Ferry at least had a chance to avenge this with a bunch of MXdN wins later in the decade.
9. Mike Alessi at the '05 Glen Helen National: This one was an on-purpose crash. MA800 came into the 2005 Glen Helen AMA MX finale facing a big point’s deficit on Ivan Tedesco. But IT’s bike broke in the first moto, giving Mike a real shot at the title in moto two if Tedesco faltered again. Mike took matters into his own hands and took Tedesco out, and then famously stood on Tedesco’s bike and reached for the kill switch to try to get the bike to stall. The tactic didn’t work, and the AMA DQ’ed Mike from the event, costing him second-place points for the season. They also stripped him of what would have been the 2005 Rookie of the Year Award. Bonus points if you can remember who won that ’05 ROY Award instead of Alessi
8. David Vuillemin in 2002: Ricky Carmichael had a costly crash of his own at the Anaheim 1 opener in 2002, hitting the deck and handing David Vuillemin a 24-point lead right from the get-go. DV held tough and still had a decent points lead heading into the Daytona Supercross. Then came a photo shoot with Transworld Motocross Magazine, and Vuillemin had a get-off and hurt his shoulder. He was forced to pull out of that weekend's Daytona SX and ultimately lost the SX title to Carmichael.
Stewart has had his share of big crashes over the years.
Photo: Simon Cudby
7. James Stewart at 2003 125 East/West shootout: Stewart crashed early in the Vegas 125 Shootout Main Event, and then rode hard to try to make up time. He ended up crashing on a jump and bailing off of his KX125, landing body-first onto the start straight right in front of the mechanics’ area. He broke his collarbone and missed the first few 125 MX Nationals, where he was the defending champion. He won every moto once he returned, but couldn’t pull out enough points to prevent Grant Langston from taking his title.
6. Stewart Over the Bars at High Point in 2006: Stewart had some wild crashes outdoors in 2005 while facing Carmichael’s RM-Z450 on a KX250. But he was armed with a KX450F in 2006, and beat Carmichael for the overall at the Hangtown opener. The next weekend at High Point, the duo battled again, until Stewart went over the falls, crashing huge on a downhill double jump in the first moto. He scored zero points for the day, and Carmichael was off and running to another championship.
5. Ryan Villopoto breaks his leg at St. Louis 2010: Recent memory here. RV2 was bearing down on Ryan Dungey for the SX points lead, and took the lead in the St. Louis race after a wild block pass that put both riders on the ground. Dungey gave chase, and then Villopoto spun leading up to a big jump and had to bail off, breaking his leg and ankle and ending his season.
CP had a championship ending crash at Pala last year.
Photo: Simon Cudby
4. RC in 2003 at the Carmichael Farm: Few saw this one since it took place far away from the races, but RC tore his ACL and ended up having to sit out of the entire 2004 AMA SX Tour. Chad Reed won the title. Worse yet for RC, Honda seemed to grow disinterested in his services, leading Carmichael to sign with Suzuki, who he still rides for to this day. And Honda hasn’t won a 450 title since.
3. Stewart down in Dilla practice in 2007: Carmichael won the first six rounds of the 2007 AMA MX tour but then stuck to his plan of retiring halfway through the season. Stewart then seemed in clear control of the title fight, until he knocked himself out in a Unadilla practice crash and scoring zero points. He tried fighting through it, winning the next race in Colorado, but still seemed to be struggling when he twisted his knee at Washougal and had to drop out of the fight. He left a dramatic title chase behind, and Langston ultimately pulled through again.
TP had some big crashes through the years. But the most costly came in 2001.
Photo: Simon Cudby
2. Pourcel at Pala in 2010: Christophe Pourcel lost the 2009 AMA 250 MX crown in heartbreaking fashion—due to a mechanical problem—but 2010 was even worse. Trey Canard mounted a strong comeback in the second half of last summer’s AMA 250 MX series, landing him in the thick of a title fight with Pourcel heading into the season finale in California. But Canard crashed in the first moto, so Pourcel had the title pretty much in hand while he was cruising in third. Then suddenly, Pourcel crashed on a double jump and broke his shoulder. Canard took the title. Worse yet for Pourcel, he was unable to secure a ride for 2011. With Canard having already won a race in his rookie season, one has to wonder where Pourcel would be right now if he had not hurt himself at Pala, won the title, and got a factory 450 ride for this season.
1. Travis Pastrana at Unadilla 2001: Seems like forever ago that Travis Pastrana was a dirt bike racing prodigy with the same potential as Carmichael and Stewart, but in 2001 he was the defending AMA 125 MX Champion, and had already won the 125 East SX Title. By mid-summer, he was sitting on a massive points lead outdoors en route to his second-straight title. He was also heading to a 1-1 sweep at Unadilla. On the last lap of the second moto, TP went over the bars on a double and knocked himself out. Grant Langston inherited the win (is there a theme here?). Pastrana tried racing again, but he kept crashing and hitting his head, eventually having to bow out of the series. After his Unadilla crash, he never won another professional MX or SX race.
Did you like this article?
Check out LONE STAR RISING
in our Latest issue of Racer X available now.
The James Stewart Freestone AMA Spring Classic in Texas has quickly earned a place on the list of must-attend springtime amateur events. Page 182.
Look for the verified symbol 
Impulse Studios
Great write up! Didn't MC have a get off at Spring Creek during practice that cost him the championship?
JUSS LAANSOO was rookie of the year in 2005
Juss Laansoo won the '05 ROY award
I thought B-hep got ROY in 05?
Here is a great video, if you like mayhem and carnage, r/c and bubba, all their greatest 'hits'.
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS3TOIfy85s
at 3:35 in, i thought stewart's pass on mcgrath, was much cleaner than reed's was last week in ATL. Some people were calling it a great block pass! So which is it, a takeout move, or a block pass ?
at '2:59' in ( seriously ) is 259, making the greatest save in this century, imo.
at 4:25 we have carmichael cutting the track in detroit (carmichael doesn't crash much, so it's probably just 'filler material')
and at 4:46 is a beautiful sequence of stewarts hi point crash, followed (literally) by his southwick one. how can anybody be still alive, after crashing that hard, all within a seven day span.
right at 6:00 we have stewart and preston, but i wish there was more of it to see.
some cool u tubes out there!
what about josh hill?
I was at Unadilla in 01 with my son. We were cheering for Travis all the way. He fell on the last lap of the first moto, but got up and still won. The crash on the last lap of second moto was certainly the knock out blow to his MX career. Sad but true. :-(
At least Travis has nine lives so he is king of a few other motorsports disciplines now :-)
Awesome write up! and Trick you should be getting some RX payolla bra! Thanks!
check out this video of the alessi/tedesco incident in 05. i think the best part is when another rider decides something isnt right so he turns around and comes back to push alessi out of the way!
oops here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng47iiLdWLQ
oops here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng47iiLdWLQ
Don't forget about Doug Henry at Budd's Creek (twice)! I'm pretty sure the one year he was in the title hunt.
Bailey '87, Magoo '85, Lechien '89, anything with Bradshaw versus Chicken and lastly (but not leastly) Jeff Stanton parking some Euro (Dirk Guekens?) in one of the gutsiest, takin' the bull by the horns, I'm in charge, true grit moments of ALL time in '90 for the MXdN title. Not MX but, some Dez spode wadded it long ago giving us one of the sports' most dominant (250) teams of all time, Pro Circuit Racing (talk about silver lining).
Ernesto Fonseca.
:o(
I was there when stewart wadded at vegas in 03. It was a single to flatland, his bike nose dived and he bailed a la poto '10. he was lying on the track for most of the race. Prior, stewart was quading into a rhythm section that nobody else was doing not even the 250s. Everyone was standing the whole time for both mains.
you have to give doug henry the nod for the most famous MX crash of all time. No debate. Comes back to take a championship. The shame is that people were proclaiming dougs crash and comeback to be the sports greatest while he was still riding. If there is one thing we've learned about dirtbikes, riding, racing and injuries is that it doesn't take a hard fall, a racing, or violent crash to put a man out for good. A rider has never had his worst crash if he continues to ride. Tomorrow could be that epic crash, and it could be spinning on a root.
heres another good one keiran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25kKDQbRIUg
u tube rules
a picture is worth 1,000 words.
what about mike alessi's crash and getting run over about 4 times at redbud in 08? that should at least make it in the top ten
RJ threw or should I say jumped an outdoor title away on his YZ. And wsnt't Alessi , on the best ride in the business , in the title hunt before what has to be the dirtiest outdoor crash of all time at RedBud.
Dirt
I feel kinda creepy arguing about best / worst crashes but............... TPorlife you tube the Alessi crash. .
Jim
MC was totally dominating the '96 MX races, when he came up short on a double at Millville and severely sprained his foot. Emig made up big points in the next few races and won the title. Matt Walker, IT's teammate was the one that turned around, got off of his bike and pushed Alessi off of IT's Kawi. I f**king hate Alessi and his turd father and am glad that he hasnt won sh*t, and never will. Doug Henry at Budd's in '95 either had the points lead, or was close to it, when he rocketed off of that jump and broke his back. Kiedrowski taking a few rocks to the fingers at 'Dilla in '94 cost him, since he was really laying some wood at this point to LaRocco. MC in '98, after he had crashed at Pontiac and (unknowingly) broke the navicular of his left hand ended up pulling out after Mt. Morris. He had won his last race at Hangtown with a 2-1, and looked amazing. BTW, I notice a Stewart theme in this top 10, lol. I wonder if Stewart notices it?
The JS crash @ High Point, wasn't that the crash that was caused when his engine seized from the crankshaft failure?
Put this URL :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRnPBbneMGM and enjoy the Alessi crashes over the years!!! Seeing him standing on IT's bike at Glen Helen just gets me fired up, and I dont feel a bit bad about the karma this punk has reaped over the years.
What about Mike Alessi at Red Bud '08 I think when he went down on that big downhill jump and all those bikes were landing on him? I think he had a shot at the title that year. He hasn't been the same since
(...anyone got a cigarette ? ) *, )
Since motocross was seemingly invented in about 1990 and the historically important 1970s seems for the most part unknown by the writers here, I'll inject another costly crash from back then. An AMA national pro with a top-30 number plate crashed at a national in California and died of massive internal injuries an hour later. He was in his early 20s. Let's see who can remember the rider, the track, his national number, his age when he died and the bike he rode.
jim west, (?) but i cant find his # and stuff. not right now anyway.
i didnt see him on this cool 70's mx video (finally a decent soundtrack!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLmShClSOTw
yea right, jim west. on a chay zed.
Sorry my bad, JS's crank failure crash was Southwick 06.
Trick thanks for the link,killer video! And they say everybody's to ruff & reckless today....LOL
This was a superb article by the way.
No, it was a Maico.
There it is, #85 !
he said top 30 so that cant be right, probably too early.
What about Doug Henry?
WOW I remember all of them.
@Kieran That other rider is Matt "the Stalker" Walker. He was the guy who gave RC the nickname "the Goat".
How about Alessi's RedBud crash...hell the TV announcers named the ski jump "Alessi Falls". I was there and wathced it happen from the fence. I honestly thought he was killed. For the series, he was keeping JS7 honest up to that point.
I quickly scanned this list looking for what I thought was the topper...DV12 Le Cobra crashing during a Transworld Photo Shoot, while leading in the SX pts series against RC...tell me that wasn't epic? That tossed him out of the series, and handed it to RC. He had a great shot at it that year. That to me should be Top 10 easy.
...and apparently I didn't look hard enough....whomp, whomp, whaaaaa
Again no history past like 1990... Are you kidding me please do not forget Doug Henry at Buds Creek twice,RJ getting landed on in Gainsville 89 it cost him his career,Hannaha at Daytona 84 hitting the fence cost him the title.Larocco hitting a tire on the side of the track bedding his shift lever in the last race of the year giving the title to Emig,Bradshaw who was crashing all the time.Just some of the ones you missed.
Jason you should be punched for not including more from the past history of the sport.
I love how Stewart has 3 of the ten crashes on this list. 4 if you count the intro.
@David C: Thank you for your input. But we were only covering the past decade. Thanks for reading.
Trick, thanks for the yourtube. It's fun to watch. One thing bothers me, every time
js7 gets off the track when he gets back on he never looks to see if anyone's coming.
I can't be the only one that notices this trend (Daytona 11)
Didn't his parents teach him to look before entering traffic?
Championship or no championship don't hurt innocent riders!
I Love how many involve JS7...thats hilarious
Canoe
I believe Stewart started his yamaha career when MA800 rode a Suzuki therefore wouldn't have raced any outdoors. Awesome write up and a fair list. Pastranas career ended after that brutal crash. He did rave for a couple years after but was never the same.
Trick, Jairtime, Carlsbad ~ check this OG link and moto on from there. Enjoy, braddahs.
http://moto.mpora.com/tag/jack-burnicle/
I was at the Saddleback race where Jim West died, as a spectator I didn't know what happened to him until the next day. He just didn't come around one lap, I figured that he broke at the time. And Trick, wasn't West a Husqvarna factory rider?
Saddleback ruled...snif
one of my favorites was at Red Bud..on the last lap. when Mike Laracco took out his teammate Mike Kiedrowski,,, then right after the checkered flag, Kiedrowski "ghost rode" his bike into Laracco, knocking him down,, then started flipping him off. I was standing there and couldn't believe what I was seeing.
I'm not sure I would put Stewart crashing at High Pt in '06 a costly crash. It was the 2nd race of the series, RC was second in pts after one race (in which he won the 2nd moto), and High Pt was his track. Not to mention, Stewart was back the following week to race at Southwick. He definitely raced RC hard, but in the course of a long season, Stewart, nor anyone else, could hang with RC outdoors. So, having this as a game changer just doesn't cut it for me. I would consider Pourcel crashing out in the final race of the 250 outdoors last year more considerable and costly, since he lost the title.
Apologies to JW557; I missed your post and obviously agree. KWJumper201, 2008 was JS7s last year at Kawi...
I never look who authored a RX piece until the end, and whenever I mutter "now that was worth my time to read" it's a Weege feature. Take the others out to lunch and give 'em pointers!
Jason should do a The List: Ten Really Obvious and Moronic Takeouts. Not a feature on restaurants, but the likes of Sorby, Alessi (pick one) and Windham (DV, Phoenix SX). And Grant.
Take out moves....everyone forgets Shorty. I guess because he looks like a nice guy, but I recall many, many times him taking guys out on the final lap.
Alessi smashing his knee while on Suzuki, leading the points.
My favorite crash has not happened yet .. When Jairtimes computer crashes, we will all be cheering!
hoof373, I had forgotten about that LaRocco/Kied incident...a true classic. LaRocco had a semi~bad guy image back then...I remember him and Emig having knock~down, drag~out battles back in the day.
Whoever wrote this was born in 1991! How about RJ getting landed on and breaking his wrist? Corrado Madii in '85?
@David C. You should be punched. Read the sentence directly above number 10.
Awesome read btw!
Man I hate when I don't read the whole thing.Sorry Jason just punch me then.Funny how many of these where about JS7.
I agree; where the fudge is Doug Henry?
Thanks Fransisco Bulto! Very cool!
As a matter of fact James Stewart had the holeshot in the 125 East/West Shootout main in 2003 and was leading. He never crashed and tried to make up time. He was in first and Andrew Short was in second.
Found more jim west.
http://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Moto-Related,20/Jim-West-family-contact,117252
i remember that 'dirt bike' or mxa photo of him, front wheel up high, jofa and chest protector, just cant recall the number. and it was a maico, the husky was earlier.
Jim West #28 husqvarna, saddleback trans ama won by tony D.
http://motocrossactionmag.com/Main/News/JODYS-SPINNING-YARNS-TALES-OF-ADVENTURE-MYSTERY-SU-1311.aspx
Um.....how much did we win? : )
Jaimin George, shoot us some you- tubes !
we would love to watch them too !
share and share alike !
@motoheadsfromtheseventies
Q: who was the guy who tried to claim marty smiths bike, where and when?
what was the price to claim ANY factory bike?
A: ?
#2 Rick Jonsons Gatorback crash-- it ended his career
#1 David Bailey Crash that left him paralized
Most spectacular-- DOUGH HENRY at Budds Creek
"the AMA DQ’ed Mike from the event, costing him second-place points for the season. They also stripped him of what would have been the 2005 Rookie of the Year Award."
giving him a fine would have been stupid, since he can afford it, easily.
So, is this a suitable punishment for his crime, along with years of public scorn, from some of the fans, and the racing community? should a person ever be forgiven, after they have already paid their debt ?
if people were arguing that alessi's punishment was ' too soft', that would be one thing, but people 'hating' him for it ? ? It takes a lot more than that, to make me hate somebody.
But, I admit, I have clapped and cheered, every time he has been cleaned out by someone on the track ! But, i dont ' hate ' him or anything. I would not be able to enjoy this sport if there was someone that i hated, involved with it, in any way.
I remember way back, before the days of 52inch HD flatscreens, and live tv coverage. I was in absolute Awe, just to see them in person, as they sped by. They were my heroes.
This list means nothing since apparently nobody crashed prior to the 21st Century.
How a list called "THE LIST: Ten Really Big and Costly Crashes" doesn't include the David Baily and Ricky Johnson crashes in the 80's is beyond me. Both career ending, and one was tragically life changing as well.
stewarts crash back on his 450 kawi days, at the sowthwick national when his engine locked up stands out in my mind.
Jim West, AMA #28, Maico, Saddleback, 23 years old.
Read a little about Jim West's crash here: http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ms&n=1175
The Henry stuck throttle ski jump launch is so difficult to watch. They show it in slow mo and each time you wish the outcome is different.
This is a fairly long comment, that wastes considerable bandwidth.. !Please! do NOT read it, if long, well-researched, articles offend you.
"So in 99% of the fans opinions, Stewie NEVER beat RC for a title, not a real one. (dont forget, Reed was tied with Stewie in points that season after Vegas,366 points each, Stewie got the edge because of wins) "
Toronto: Honda’s Nick Wey grabbed the $1,500 Progressive Direct Holeshot Award with Suzuki’s carmichael and Reed in tow. Stewart started in 10th place. Throughout the first lap Reed and Carmichael traded positions, but the start of lap two, Carmichael hit a tuff block and crashed. Stewart moved into second place and put the charge on Reed.Reed and Stewart swapped positions several times before they came together before the finish line jump on lap 17. Stewart went off the track and upon re-entering Honda’s Travis Preston collided with Stewart, causing both of them to crash. Reed went on to pick up the win. Carmichael battled back to finish second and Stewart finished third.
Vancouver BC : Stewart led all 20 laps en route to his second-career Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP race. Carmichael was second while Reed was third.
“It was not the start I wanted,” said Carmichael. “If you want to put yourself in a better position, you can’t start the race like that. Only bad things can happen when you get a start like that.”
“It was a great race tonight, and I love racing here in Canada,” said Stewart. “My parents really helped me keep on track this week and come into the weekend really prepared. I do not feel 100% confident yet because I still have a lot of work ahead of me.”
series points after 2 rounds:
James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 50
Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki, 44
So.........stewart gains a 6 point advantage, in canada.
daytona 2006: "stewart grabbed the main event holeshot and even managed to make it through the first turn. With half the battle already won, it looked as though Number 7 had it going on. He posted the fastest lap time of the night and it was almost a full second faster than Carmichael. But, Lucky wasn't so lucky tonight as the call of his native soil was too strong to resist. Stewart enjoyed a nice reunion with the Dirt Wurx-built track on Lap 2, allowing Reed, who had been in second place, Carmichael and the entire field weave their way around him. Ricky got by Reed on the same lap and was in first for the remainder of the evening."
So........ Stewart finished 6th, and dropped 10 points to ricky, at daytona 2006
Final Amp'd Mobile World Supercross GP Season Standings
1. James Stewart, Tallahassee, Fla., Kawasaki, 380
2. Ricky Carmichael, Havana, Fla., Suzuki, 365
Even if you were to add 'Daytona 2006', to the 'World Supercross GP' series, it will only give Carmichael, 10 points more on stewart, leaving him still 5 points behind !
So..... is stewart's 2006 "world gp title" really worth any LESS than carmichaels ama sx title ?
Final Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series Season Standings
1. Ricky Carmichael, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 338
2. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 336
here an asterisk *... sorry, but even the GOAT has a few.....
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS3TOIfy85s
at 4:25 we have carmichael, cutting the track in detroit. His teammate Ivan Tedesco was penalized earlier in the day, for doing the same thing. There was also that little 'fuel' issue, as well......hmmmmmnn....
These are the facts.
If you think that you know something, and you want to prove it to somebody else, the BEST way to do it, is to present a case. No disrespect to anyone. peace.
Here is a really COOL website, which chronicles the entire 2006 supercross season:
://www.amsoil.com/supercross/2006/schedules/supercross.aspx
(and i will post this on a newer thread, since i put so much effort into it.)