The fears of riders came true when a fiery crash in the banking ended today’s MOTO-ST race 33 minutes early at Iowa Speedway, with Richie Morris Racing’s Shawn Higbee transported to a hospital in an ambulance and Brian Kcraget of the Speedwerks.com Suzuki team–who crashed trying to avoid Higbee–transported in critical condition via a helicopter. According to MOTO-ST President Roger Edmondson, Higbee and his crashed bike separately hit the wall outside the banking and then slid down the banking. Kcraget, who Edmondson said was 21 seconds behind Higbee and came upon the scene after a full-course yellow had been issued and after the pace car and several other riders had passed the crash scene, fell and slid past the burning bike and the prone Higbee. Edmondson said that flashing yellow warning lights and waving yellow flags were deployed around the course before Higbee’s bike had stopped sliding, and that Kcraget had to pass trackside emergency vehicles with their flashing lights on before he reached the actual crash scene. “What happened was unfortunate but it had nothing to do with the topic of discussion earlier this weekend,” Edmondson said. “We don’t understand how Kcraget missed the flashing yellow lights and the waving flags. He didn’t hit the bike and didn’t hit the wall, he fell onto the track, apparently trying to avoid Higbee. Both he and his bike slid by underneath Higbee and Higbee’s bike, on the banking.” Earlier today, San Jose BMW’s Brian Parriott apologized to MOTO-ST and track officials for attempting to organize a rider boycott, and paid a fine originally set at $2576 but subsequently reduced to $1288 and a promised public appearance at a children’s camp near Orlando this coming fall, to coincide with the MOTO-ST finale at Daytona. Parriott and his team participated in an autograph session that drew an estimated 2500 fans earlier today, but did not start the race. The $2576 fine is the cost of sending one child to the Boggy Creek Camp for one week. Boggy Creek Camp programs are part of Paul Newman’s Hole In The Wall Gang charity program, which is the official charity of MOTO-ST.