This is a video that is truly incredible. Shot by Tim Hailey at Eat My Ink, you are going to see rider Shane Proctor make a run on Willie Nichol’s Hayabusa and have it go very, very wrong. The motorcycle snorts a lot of nitrous and during this run the bike suffers a massive explosion and ensuing fire. As the video will show and tell you, Proctor stayed on the bike until he crossed the finish line (winning the round) and he then had to jump ship at some 85mph.
If the explosion were not scary enough, when you see Proctor off the bike, rolling on the ground and still on fire it is pretty awful. The track safety crew and even fellow racers responded as quickly as humanly possible and got Proctor taken care of as best they could.
Shane Proctor suffered some burns on his legs and back as well as a dislocated shoulder in the incident. We’ll let Hailey give you the full scoop below.
Tim Hailey wrote the following account and shot the video below. Here’s the story in his words –
The 2016 edition of IDBL’s WPGC Bike Fest will always be remembered for a poignant moment of near tragedy. Hugely popular and successful MDIR racer Shayne Proctor was on a routine pass in Top Sportsman. Dialing in 7.80 on Willie Nichol’s nitrous-huffing Suzuki Hayabusa, Proctor left the line unusually late against opponent Brian Fandel and rode hell-bent on catching up. But right at the eighth mile an apparent nitrous airbox explosion ignited the bike into a huge ball of flame.
Proctor rode the bike to the finishline, completely in flames and—according to top end eyewitnesses—standing on the footpegs with his hands off the bars. At that point he was able to bail, his legs and feet engulfed in flames. Despite a shoulder dislocated in the fall, Shayne rolled vigorously around on the pavement in a futile attempt to put out the fire. Nearby racers with towels were able to quickly reach the burning rider and put out the flames as the MDIR safety crew arrived. One of his shoes lay 10 feet away, burning like a campfire.
Few of IDBL’s tough racers and fans will ever forget what they saw, and as Proctor was airlifted to the hospital it was a troubled field that took to the staging lanes until news came back that Proctor is expected to fully recover from burns on his legs and back, and the injured shoulder.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Proctor with his medical bills at https://www.gofundme.com/2hdjgzfb
That one is hard to watch. I hope the rider is relatively comfortable and healing steadily….
Seldom am I short of words after a video, but as a motorcycle racer myself, and one who has been down on occasion, I can’t imagine what it was like holding on to that fireball as long as he did. It’s one of those moments when you watch, that you feel discomfort in the pit of your stomach.
Prayers to him and his family for a quick recovery.