Thousands of dollars of soft barriers were destroyed in a fiery crash Saturday, May 27 at the WERA Cycle Jam at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

View a video of the scene shot by veteran racer Chuck Ivey here: https://www.facebook.com/1485493885/videos/253560307256536/

Ilan Bental crashed in Turn Four, the esses section, at Road Atlanta during the 600ccc/C Superstock Expert race. Strong winds then turned a small fire on Bental’s crashed motorcycle into an inferno that burned up a huge section of tire wall, a chain link fence, and an estimated 8-9 sections of life-saving Airfence Bike soft barriers.

While the fire ended the remainder of the day’s activities, Bental was relatively uninjured according to Ivey, the fire was eventually extinguished, and enough repairs were made overnight that WERA was able to resume action the following morning. (Bental can be seen at left in the photo above, helping pull Airfence sections away from flames.)

The cost to replace the Airfence sections is estimated to be between $23,400 and $26,000, plus shipping. The 501(c)(3) non-profit Roadracing World Action Fund, Inc., is already raising funds to replace the destroyed units.

To help, send your tax-deductible donation via Paypal at [email protected] and put “RA fire replacements” in the comments/notes so the funds go toward the Road Atlanta replacements.

For more information on the Roadracing World Action Fund and other ways to donate and help, go to www.roadracingworld.com/actionfund/.