Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Grant Lopez took his GSX-R1000 under the existing Formula Xtreme lap record in the opening laps of official practice at Road Atlanta Friday morning, then crashed and dislocated his right shoulder.
Lopez fell in turn 12 and slid into Alpina Air Module/Air Fence deployed outside the turn, in front of a concrete wall.
Lopez ended up underneath the Air Module. Alpina Managing Director Ingo Hopfgartner said that the Air Fence had been installed correctly and had worked properly, then re-deployed itself over Lopez after Lopez impacted and collapsed the fence. This feature allows the Air Fence to handle multiple rider impacts, with the module center section reinflating automatically after impact, even if a rider is still lying at the base of the module.
Prior to crashing, Lopez turned a 1:25.479 lap time. The official class lap record is 1:25.601.
Lap times from the session follow:
1. Grant Lopez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:25.479
2. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:25.713
3. John Hopkins, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.051
4. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR9292RR, 1:26.518
5. Josh Hayes, Honda CBR9292RR, 1:26.592
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:26.601
7. Mark Miller, Honda CBR9292RR, 1:26.663
8. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:26.760
9. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR929RR, 1:26.844
10. Rich Alexander, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.298
11. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.744
12. Steve Grigg, Kawasaki 840, 1:30.120
13. Billy Ethridge, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.546
14. Jamie Thompson, Suzuki GSX-R, 1:33.204
15. Troy Vincent, Suzuki GSX-R, 1:33.308
16. Justin Garvin, 1:33.655
17. John Ross, Suzuki, 1:35.002
18. Robert Hilliard, Suzuki, 1:36.547
19. Rick Narup, Suzuki, 1:36.547
20. Stephen Tuel, Yamaha, 1:37.489
21. Jim Bonner, Yamaha, 1:38.340
22. Daniel Smallwood, Suzuki, 1:38.753
23. James Compton, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:38.968
Updated Post With Times: Lopez Dislocates Shoulder In First Formula Xtreme Practice At Road Atlanta
Updated Post With Times: Lopez Dislocates Shoulder In First Formula Xtreme Practice At Road Atlanta
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