Dainese technology tested in a 100Mph crash
By: Chip Yates
Superbike Racer #489
WERA & AFM Expert
Two pieces of advice shot through my mind as I slid along the surprisingly rough asphalt at California Speedway at more than 100mph: 1) keep your hands up by your chest so you don’t break your wrists trying to stop yourself, and 2) count to ten when you’re done sliding because of the temptation to try getting up before you actually stop! I also realized how important it is to buy a quality set of leathers that you are prepared to crash in at whatever speeds you like to ride your motorcycle.
I can now say from firsthand experience that those are good pieces of advice. After I was certain the sliding was over, I tried to stand and instantly discovered I hadn’t exactly stopped. I then found myself crawling up the hot and steeply banked NASCAR oval in order to get out of the impact zone of turn 3. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my AMASupersport specification 2007 Suzuki GSXR600, which had actually slid partway up the banking along with me and was signaling its protest of the whole incident by slowly bleeding its green race oil back down the oval. As I got near the wall I signaled the corner worker with a thumbs-up so that they wouldn’t red flag the session. It worked, and the attentive Fastrack Riders course workers only showed a local yellow since the bike and I were both significantly off the racing line and I was ok. So much for participating in the WERA races the next day – my first race as an Expert had been de-calendared by my first crash, but at least I would go on to race again.
But first a slight recovery period was in order. The pain in my left shoulder told me that something was broken or dislocated where I had impacted the track at high speed, but I felt remarkably calm and fortunate to have walked away from a 4th gear accident and was still able to smile and joke with the rescue truck driver who came to pick me up and whisk me over to the onsite doctor at the track’s medical center who promptly started an I.V. line in me with a catheter big enough for horse veins.
In the two months following my first racing accident and associated first-ever broken bone (collarbone) of my 36-year life, I had time to study what had happened and see what take-aways I could come up with to improve my racing tradecraft and savvy. I had only started racing one year prior in January 2007 and hadn’t ridden a street bike since 1992 so mine was a steep learning curve in an attempt to go from absolute novice in 2007 to AMA Pro-Expert racer in just 2 years by the 2009 season (yes I like to set silly goals to live by).
My focus turned to my safety gear and how well I had emerged from an accident at an indicated 122mph in 4th gear. My actual speed was somewhat less due to the gearing I was running at California Speedway that day but safe to say it was north of 100mph when my bike tucked violently to the left side under my initial braking after coming off the high-speed banked oval onto the flat apron of the speedway. I remember begging the emergency doctor not to cut my Dainese suit off of me because as far as I was concerned it had just become a member of our family after saving my butt during such a violent encounter. Everyone knows Dainese makes pregnant dogin leather suits and safety gear for riding and racing (ever heard of Valentino Rossi?), but I became a true believer and advocate after seeing how well my suit survived such a long distance asphalt slide and the brutal friction heat generated from the jagged pavement. The titanium plates on my model suit cover Kevlar composite, which in turn covers leather and plastic armor underneath. On the left shoulder where the impact instantly broke my collarbone and was then subjected to the vicious sliding forces, most of the titanium and Kevlar outer armor was still intact. The rest of the suit sustained what could mostly be categorized as cosmetic damage, which proves its absolutely unbelievable strength to survive a crash of this magnitude and still look this serviceable.
What is clear is that without my decision to invest in well-designed and wellresearched leathers, this crash could have easily ended my racing career with an extended and painful recovery period involving skin grafts and other unpleasantness. I firmly believe my suit saved me in that practice crash and I have since had it repaired by the Dainese factory in Italy and I also purchased a second Dainese suit in case I crash again during a race weekend and need a back-up plan. With the short 24-month period I have set myself to collect enough points to earn my AMA license, I now carry two of everything in my gear bag, including Dainese back protectors, boots and gloves!
“If you can’t afford good leathers,
you can’t afford to be on track”.
- Chip Yates, Superbike Racer #489 WERA & AFM
About Chip Yates:
William “Chip” Yates returned to competitive superbike racing slightly against doctor’s orders within 2 months of breaking his collarbone (not plated). Since his return in March, Yates has earned 167 points out of the 300 expert points needed for an AMA Pro-Expert license after his first 4 races of 2008, and with 9 more race weekends to go, it looks like he will make it if he stays uninjured. Chip continues to improve his lap times and is currently lapping Infineon Raceway at a pace that would have qualified his SWIGZ.COM GSX-R600 for the AMA Supersport race there last season. Yates is currently competing as an Expert in all rounds of the WERA West Championship and all rounds of the AFM Championship during the 2008 season. Follow Chip’s progress towards his AMA goals at
www.chipyates.com and at
www.swigz.com.
