Loris Baz, Richie Escalante, and Max Flinders all suffered significant injuries during the MotoAmerica event at Road Atlanta, and now we know more about their injuries and their prognoses.
Fighting for position, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Escalante drove through the finish line at the end of Superbike Race One on the gas, but unfortunately Baz, who crossed the finish line 0.5-second ahead of Escalante, slowed a little more and a little sooner. Escalante also said he was slightly distracted. Caught off guard, Escalante ran into the back of Baz at 99.4 mph (160 kph).
Both riders crashed and suffered injuries.
Baz injured his right foot/ankle. After coming off a recent surgery to repair his right foot/ankle and suffering many injuries before that, Baz decided to return to his home in France to see his regular doctor who knows him well. That doctor diagnosed him with a new fracture to the end of his tibia (lower leg bone) that protrudes on the inner side of the ankle.
The fracture was stabilized with a screw inserted during surgery, and Baz is reporting via social media that he will be able to race in the next MotoAmerica Superbike round May 17-19 at Barber Motorsports Park.
Escalante was hospitalized immediately after the crash and was diagnosed with a broken left wrist and three compression fractures to his L1, L2, and L4 vertebrae. After being held for observation overnight, Escalante was released on Sunday, April 21, and returned to his home in Mexico. There, Escalante underwent further examinations that confirmed his wrist and vertebrae fractures and it was discovered that he also fractured his medial malleolus bone, the same fracture Baz suffered, in his left ankle.
Escalante underwent surgery to stabilize the fractures in his wrist and ankle but his fractured vertebrae will be left to heal naturally. This, unfortunately, will take time, and Escalante said he expects to be out of action two to three months.
Flinders highsided his Thrashed Bike Racing Yamaha at the end of wet Superbike Race Two and then immediately got on his Mad Monkey Motorsports Indian Challenger for King Of The Baggers Race Two. Flinders rode an inspired race, overcoming a huge highside save to beat defending Champion Hayden Gillim in a fight for third place overall and as the top finisher on rain tires on the drying track.
After the race, Flinders was unable to walk due to a painful injury to his right hip. He was carried onto the podium by race winner Troy Herfoss and was then carried into and out of the post-race press conference room. Later, Flinders was diagnosed to have a fractured right femur. Luckily, it’s a hairline fracture that given some non-weight-bearing rest will allow him to try to ride at Barber, he told RoadracingWorld.com.
