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US teen rider killed in crash at Indy
Source: Agencies |
August 31, 2010, Tuesday
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THE death of a 13-year-old motorcycle rider at Indianapolis Motor Speedway cast a shadow over Sunday's races at the historic track and prompted mourning competitors to defend the development system for the dangerous circuit.
Peter Lenz fell off his bike during the warmup lap for the day's first race at Indianapolis and was run over by another motorcycle, driven by a 12-year-old. Medical workers immediately placed Lenz in a neck brace, put him on a stretcher and began chest compressions while taking him to a hospital.
Several hours later, he was pronounced dead.
The Marion County coroner's office said Lenz died from blunt force trauma. More details were awaited after an autopsy on the youngest driver or rider ever killed at the 101-year-old speedway.
"Peter passed away early this morning when he was apparently struck by another rider," read a posting on Lenz's Facebook page, which was signed "Dad."
"He passed doing what he loved and had his go fast face on as he pulled onto the track," the posting said.
"The world lost one of its brightest lights today. God Bless Peter and the other rider involved. 45 is on another road we can only hope to reach. Miss you kiddo."
Lenz rode the No. 45 bike, and his father was at the track on Sunday.
It was the first death at the track since IndyCar driver Tony Renna was killed in testing in October 2003.
Lenz had emerged as one of America's youngest rising stars. At age 11, he earned the "expert" license from the American Federation of Motorcyclists, and in March 2009, Lenz became the youngest rider ever to win an AFM race.
This year, competing in the US Grand Prix Racers Union series, Lenz had four wins, five podium finishes and was leading the MD250H classification in points.
"Our hearts go out to the parents, family and friends of Peter Lenz," speedway CEO Jeff Belskus said in a statement. "Words cannot adequately express the sadness of our company and our employees about this tragic incident, and Peter is in our thoughts and prayers."
USGPRU officials said this was the first fatality in the series in nine years. Still, racing conditions were not ideal this weekend at Indy.
Hot, dry weather turned the bumpy, 2.621-mile course into a slick track that tested the world's best riders.
Reigning world champ Valentino Rossi fell four times, including a spill on Sunday morning during a 20-minute warmup session. Sunday's Moto2 race was shortened after a big wreck on the first lap took out four drivers.
After a brief delay to clear the track, the USGPRU race was restarted. Had they known the severity of the injuries, one official said they would have considered canceling the race. The three other races all started on time, though Lenz was never far from the racers' thoughts.
"This is an ugly, terrible part of this sport," USGPRU chief steward Stewart Aitken-Cade said. "You do what you can to stop it from happening as best you can. That's really all that you can do."
"Any time a racer is injured in this way and loses his life, it's tough, adult or child," Aitken-Cade added. "It just makes it especially difficult when it's a young guy like Peter."
Spain's Dani Pedrosa, riding a Honda, won to claim his third victory of the season and close the gap on runaway championship leader Jorge Lorenzo to 68 points.
Peter Lenz fell off his bike during the warmup lap for the day's first race at Indianapolis and was run over by another motorcycle, driven by a 12-year-old. Medical workers immediately placed Lenz in a neck brace, put him on a stretcher and began chest compressions while taking him to a hospital.
Several hours later, he was pronounced dead.
The Marion County coroner's office said Lenz died from blunt force trauma. More details were awaited after an autopsy on the youngest driver or rider ever killed at the 101-year-old speedway.
"Peter passed away early this morning when he was apparently struck by another rider," read a posting on Lenz's Facebook page, which was signed "Dad."
"He passed doing what he loved and had his go fast face on as he pulled onto the track," the posting said.
"The world lost one of its brightest lights today. God Bless Peter and the other rider involved. 45 is on another road we can only hope to reach. Miss you kiddo."
Lenz rode the No. 45 bike, and his father was at the track on Sunday.
It was the first death at the track since IndyCar driver Tony Renna was killed in testing in October 2003.
Lenz had emerged as one of America's youngest rising stars. At age 11, he earned the "expert" license from the American Federation of Motorcyclists, and in March 2009, Lenz became the youngest rider ever to win an AFM race.
This year, competing in the US Grand Prix Racers Union series, Lenz had four wins, five podium finishes and was leading the MD250H classification in points.
"Our hearts go out to the parents, family and friends of Peter Lenz," speedway CEO Jeff Belskus said in a statement. "Words cannot adequately express the sadness of our company and our employees about this tragic incident, and Peter is in our thoughts and prayers."
USGPRU officials said this was the first fatality in the series in nine years. Still, racing conditions were not ideal this weekend at Indy.
Hot, dry weather turned the bumpy, 2.621-mile course into a slick track that tested the world's best riders.
Reigning world champ Valentino Rossi fell four times, including a spill on Sunday morning during a 20-minute warmup session. Sunday's Moto2 race was shortened after a big wreck on the first lap took out four drivers.
After a brief delay to clear the track, the USGPRU race was restarted. Had they known the severity of the injuries, one official said they would have considered canceling the race. The three other races all started on time, though Lenz was never far from the racers' thoughts.
"This is an ugly, terrible part of this sport," USGPRU chief steward Stewart Aitken-Cade said. "You do what you can to stop it from happening as best you can. That's really all that you can do."
"Any time a racer is injured in this way and loses his life, it's tough, adult or child," Aitken-Cade added. "It just makes it especially difficult when it's a young guy like Peter."
Spain's Dani Pedrosa, riding a Honda, won to claim his third victory of the season and close the gap on runaway championship leader Jorge Lorenzo to 68 points.
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