Masters of the Mountains Champion Aaron Clark Critically Injured in Colorado Racing Crash
TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH (October 13, 2008) — Just a week after wrapping up his third consecutive championship in the Honda Presents the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains motorcycle road racing series at Miller Motorsports Park, Aaron Clark suffered critical injuries in a crash while practicing for a race in Colorado.
Clark, 37, a native of New Zealand now living in Longmont, Colo., was practicing on Friday, October 10, for a race with the Colorado-based Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) at the newly-reopened Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo. Clark, who is also the defending champion of the MRA series, was involved in a high-speed, single-vehicle accident and sustained critical injuries.
Clark was admitted to a Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs in serious condition. His injuries include a closed-head injury, a broken pelvis and shoulder and leg injuries. He is being periodically maintained in an induced coma while the swelling in his brain subsides. His wife, Tedi, and his brother-in-law, fellow racer Scott Jensen, are with him at the hospital, as are other members of his family.
In his native New Zealand, Clark won numerous club and regional Motocross and Supercross championships. When he made the transition to road racing in 1998, he was equally successful. In 1999, he received the Wildcard entry in the FIM Australian Grand Prix and went on to finish third in the Australian 250 GP Roadracing Championship. He came to America in 2000 and won the Aprilia Cup National Championship, which led to a sponsored ride from Aprilia USA in Unlimited Superbike FUSA in 2001. Since then, Clark has been involved with numerous race teams and currently rides the No. 1 Fay Myers Motorcycle World Suzuki GSX-R1000 for Team Moto-Garage Racing.
“Aaron Clark is not only a very accomplished racer, but an all-around great guy as well,” said Mitch Wright, director of racing for Miller Motorsports Park. “As a three-time champion of the Honda Presents the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains series, he has always represented our series and our facility with class. All of us at Miller Motorsports Park send our thoughts and prayers to Aaron, Tedi, Scott and the rest of the family, and we are hoping for a speedy recovery.”
A website, ~http://www.GetWellClarkie.com/~, has been established as a place for fans to get information and leave messages of support. Jensen has established a fund to accept donations that will help offset Clark’s medical expenses, and the contact info for the fund is located on the same website.
Another of Clark’s Masters of the Mountains colleagues, Kelly Rees, who co-owns the www.TrackStar1.com motorcycle accessories shop, is putting together an auction to help pay for Clark’s medical expenses. The auction is tentatively scheduled to start on Monday, October 20, and Rees is seeking donations of products or services to be auctioned. He can be reached by telephone at 801-928-1976.
For tickets or information regarding Miller Motorsports Park, call 435-277-RACE (7223) or visit the track’s website at www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com.
More, from a press release issued by Robert Pandya:
Aaron Clark is a racer, a champion, and friend to anybody who rides a motorcycle. Generous to a fault, Aaron met many enthusiasts through his work for Aprilia in the early part of the decade, to his current position as a mechanic and tuner through Moto-Garage. Aaron’s humble nature and outgoing spirit have inspired a website to assist with the considerable medical expenses resulting from a devastating accident during practice for an upcoming race.
~http://www.getwellclarkie.com/~
has been established to disseminate information, as a point of contact and well wishes, and most importantly a conduit to help Aaron’s family with expenses. We ask all to do what they can to spread the word about the site. He has already undergone some surgery, and will need considerable attention in the near future.
Aaron hit an unprotected wall on the track after an uncharacteristic and still unexplained single vehicle accident. His injuries are substantial, including a broken pelvis, several other broken bones, and some bruising of his brain. Fast action on the track via another racer, and Aaron’s own fighting spirit have pushed him through the weekend, but with many more weeks of recovery to come. We ask Aaron’s friends and acquaintances to consider a donation for Aaron out of respect for his positive attitude and desire to help anybody in the paddock, his enthusiasm, camaraderie and passion for motorcycles and the people who ride them. Aaron is often the first to offer a hand when it’s needed, and the last to ask for help – so we are doing it for him.
Aaron’s wife, Tedi, and his Brother-In-Law Scott Jensen will update everyone on Aaron’s recovery through the site, and ask that communications flow through ~http://www.getwellclarkie.com/~. They appreciate the good thought and well wishes, and reflect Aaron’s positive outlook and good humor.
About Aaron Clark: AARON CLARK : MRA & MoM SUPERBIKE & SUPERSTOCK : New Zealander Aaron Clark won numerous club and regional Motocross and Supercross Championships in and around his homeland. When Aaron made the transition to road racing in 1998, he was equally successful. In 1999, he received the Wildcard entry in the FIM Australian Grand Prix and went on to finish third in the Australian 250cc GP Road Racing Championship. He came to America in 2000 and won the Aprilia Cup National Championship. In 2001 Aaron received a sponsored ride from Aprilia USA in Unlimited Superbike FUSA. Since then Aaron has been involved with numerous race teams.
Aaron currently holds the #1 plate in both the Masters of the Mountain Series (Utah) and Motorcycle Roadracing Association (Colorado). In 2008 Aaron defended his #1 plate in Utah, while competing in both Superbike and Superstock in the MRA and MoM series. Aaron Clark is sponsored by Fay Myers Motorcycle World, MotoSix.com, American Suzuki, Pirelli, Leo Vince, Parts Unlimited/SBS Brakes, GP Suspension, Penske, Fixmybike.com, Woodraft, Vortex, Dynojet, Suomy, Suzuka Tire Warmers, Cycle Cynch, Zero-Gravity, TAW Vechicle Concepts, and Drippinwet.com
FIRST PERSON/OPINION
Via e-mail:
The reason for this letter today is that as I am sure you have heard my good friend Aaron Clark has fallen at PPIR and is in serious condition. Aaron is one of the best people I know and will need all the help he can get in the near future. Whether he recovers fully from this or not, he is going to need help from the racing community, his wife Tedi has a very long road in front of her. We have set up a web site for donations and need to get it out to as many people as we can as quickly as we can. If you could please post this I know it would help very much. ~http://www.getwellclarkie.com/~
Ray Thibedeau
Phoenix, Arizona