Allen Rice, 63, of San Bruno, California died during a Club Desmo trackday on Friday, August 11, practicing for the sixth round of AFM racing at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Rice had just renewed his AFM license for that weekend’s Infineon race. He first earned his AFM license in 1998 and his last race with the club was in 2002. Rice died from injuries sustained after a crash while exiting the track. He was maneuvering around the right-hand horseshoe turn in the pit row exit when his throttle opened, shot the bike onto one wheel and propelled him into the back fence on the rider’s left. The accident was witnessed by spectators and other riders. The cause of the throttle opening is unknown. Club Desmo mechanics examined the bike after the crash and did not find any mechanical problems. Rice was transported from the track before being pronounced dead. He had been riding for more than 20 years. FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: While an autopsy will be performed we (Club Desmo) believe that Allen had some sort of episode such as a stroke or heart attack as he was exiting the track. I had asked the family to kindly let us know what the results are of that autopsy. Being one of the first on the scene I can’t see how anything other than an attack that would cause him to accelerate, after having slowed way down to exit the track. We were all shocked by the accident, it seemed to touch many of the racers over the weekend, and many were really affected by it and signed a memorial card that was circulated around the race paddock on Sunday, additionally there was a moment of silence held for Allen Rice, race morning of the AFM-Infineon round August 13th, 2006 Funeral services will be held: Saturday, August 19th 2006 1:oopm Duggans Serra Mortuary 500 Westlake Avenue Daly City, California 94014 650.756.4500 We hope to share the result of this tragic accident with all those interested, because it has many people shaking their heads in disbelief about what had happened, so many need to have closure about what really happened to cause this tragic death. We hope to share this information to your readers once we get it. Mark Duncan Los Gatos, California