Vincent Haskovec

I know this is a MotoGP forum but I figured racers are racers and this is relevant information. During the Formula Xtreme race at Infineon Sears Point this weekend Vincent Haskovec crashed in turn 5 and slid into a guard rail covered by one layer of a tire wall and his bike slammed into him. It is reported that Haskovec broke his wrist, clavicle, ribs, sufferred a punctured lung, and what is beng reported as a "back injury". Inside reports say that his spinal cord is intact but damaged due to injuries to vertabraic discs in his back. Nothing has been confirmed but it is also reported that he has experienced at least partial paralysis and no one knows the extent of the paralysis or if it is permanent. He is undergoing surgery Monday afternoon (local time), most likely as I type this. I understand most of you may not know who Haskovec is and for those of you who do, you follow your motorsport. Haskovec has been a support class rider for Corona Suzuki, Valvoline Emgo Suzuki (Same team that Hopkins rode for), and most recently Emgo M4 Suzuki. Haskovec is a consistant Top 10 finisher and in 2005 won the Daytona round of Superstock beating the likes of Aaron Yates, the Hayden brothers, the Gobert brothers, Jason DiSalvo, and Jamie Hacking. He did that on Pirelli tires, it is absurd for anyone to win any race in the AMA on any tire other than Dunlop. Haskovec also has been racing in Superbike this year and has been a consistant top 10 finisher. Just wanted to let you all know so you could keep him in your thoughts as we hope for a full recovery.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Vincent Haskovec Update
moer news in a release from his team
by staff
Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Here's the latest news on Vincent Haskovec from his team:

Update On Vincent Haskovec of Lake Elsinore, California
Rider for Team Hammer, Inc., which races as Team M4 EMGO Suzuki

Team M4 EMGO Suzuki's Vaclav 'Vincent' Haskovec, 31, was seriously injured in a high-speed single-bike crash at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California during Saturday's AMA Formula Xtreme race. After he lost control and was flung from his racebike at over 100 mph, Haskovec flew back-first into a steel barrier fronted by a stack of car tires, and then was struck by his motorcycle.

Haskovec suffered a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a punctured lung and a shattered T6 vertebra, with paralysis below the chest.

On Monday night, May 16, surgeons inserted hardware designed to stabilize the broken section of his spine, and removed bone fragments from his spinal cord. Haskovec may be transferred to a rehabilitation facility as early as later this week, and his long-term prognosis is unknown.

The team has set up an e-mail account to receive messages for Vincent, [email protected], and more than 1000 e-mails had arrived by the close of business Tuesday. The flood of e-mails sent from all corners of the world continues to be a source of comfort for Vincent, his family and his close friends.

While some parts of the Infineon road course featured soft barriers designed to absorb impact, there were no soft barriers placed in front of the tire wall and steel barrier Haskovec hit. Following his crash, soft barriers were deployed in front of the barrier.

The entire Team M4 EMGO Suzuki crew thanks fans for their support of Vincent, and urges racetrack operators and motorcycle sanctioning bodies to focus on pro-actively placing soft barriers not just in front of walls that motorcycle racers have hit, but instead, in front of walls racers may hit.

Additional information on Haskovec's condition will be released as it becomes available, and will also be posted on www.teamhammer.com .