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Cardenas says "no front brake lever"

Posted by Staff
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
From Team M4 EMGO Suzuki Out-Of-Position Front Brake Lever May Have Triggered Cardenas-Hayden Crash At Fontana An out-of-position aftermarket folding front brake lever may have played a role in Martin Cardenas' crash on the first lap of the AMA Supersport race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California on Sunday. Cardenas collided with Steve Rapp on the approach to the corner where he crashed, ultimately sliding into Tommy Hayden and causing him to crash as well. "We went through the big left from second gear to fourth gear at full throttle next to each other and we hit," said Cardenas late Monday night, shortly after he awoke following hours of successful surgery to insert a titanium rod in his broken left femur. "When I reached the braking zone and went for the front brakes there was no lever, I am sure there was no lever. I didn't have front brakes. There was no lever. I tried to do the best I could. I didn't have anywhere to go because I was on the inside and there were a lot of people on the outside. I tried to hit the rear brake very hard and turn to avoid as many people as possible and I slid the bike but as soon as I touched the grass I crashed and then I don't know what happened. I am very sorry." When the bike came in off the crash truck and was examined by AMA tech officials the front brake lever was in position and the front brake system functioned normally. But closer examination by team mechanics on Monday revealed that the lever's forward-travel stop was broken near the pivot point, raising the possibility that the lever either folded up or was knocked forward during the contact with Rapp's machine, and was out of position when Cardenas reached for it with two fingers on his right hand. The lever may have been knocked back into position as the bike tumbled through the dirt or as it was picked up and loaded onto the crash truck. Folding levers are hinged in the middle and are supposed to fold instead of break in the event of a crash, increasing the chance that a crashed rider can rejoin a race after picking up his machine. "We may never know how it actually happened," said M4 EMGO Suzuki Crew Chief Keith Perry. "Our first guess was that a tankslapper kicked the pads back in the calipers but Martin says he doesn't remember any headshake before the crash and he is adamant that there was no lever when he went for the brake. The bike had a brake lever when we got it back, but it's a folding lever and the part of the lever that keeps it from rotating forward on its mount was broken. The only two things that make any kind of sense are the lever folding up when Martin and Steve Rapp collided, or the lever getting pushed forward enough to break its travel limiter and moving out of the reach of Martin's fingers. All we can do now is hope for Martin and Tommy to heal up quickly." Cardenas should be released from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, California later this week and plans to return home to Medellin, Colombia to recuperate. Well wishes can be sent to him through his website, www.martincardenas.com . Cardenas will return to AMA Formula Xtreme and Supersport competition with M4 EMGO Suzuki when he has recovered from his injuries. In the meantime, Cardenas' Formula Xtreme racebikes will be ridden by his teammate, Cory West, who up to this point has been racing in the Supersport class only. Negotiations are now underway to have Cardenas' Supersport bikes ridden by Michael Barnes until Cardenas returns to action, and the team expects to reach a final agreement with Barnes this week.

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