Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Michael Barnes is at Mid-Ohio to remember rather than ride this weekend. “I’m here to remember Larry Schwarzbach,” said Barnes when asked why he was at the track without his Team Hooters Mountain Dew Suzuki. “It was ten years ago that he was killed here in a race.”

The same day, August 2, that he won his first and only AMA 600cc Supersport race, beating the dominant Honda CBR600F2s with a Yamaha FZR600, Schwarzbach crashed his Vance & Hines Yamaha Superbike, hit the wall outside of Mid-Ohio’s final corner, bounced back onto the track, was hit by another rider, and died from his injuries. Fortunately, the wall, which used to be immediately adjacent to the track surface, has since been moved further away from the edge of the track, fronted by a gravel trap and protected by inflatable air barriers.

Barnes said he was teammates with Schwarzbach in 1990 on Team Mad Dog and fondly remembers splitting a qualifying session on that team’s Superbike with Schwarzbach at Mid-Ohio to see who was faster and who would get to race the bike that day. “I’m just here telling people about him so they don’t forget,” said veteran racer Barnes.