RIP Kurt Caselli

[Caleb]

Wow, it's a sad day and a huge loss for the motorcycle world

http://xgames.espn.go.com/rally-mot...ss-champion-kurt-caselli-dies-baja-1000-crash

 

[glockman]

Saw that earlier today. So sad. Kurt was an amazing rider.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[anderson750]

Caselli was a first class person. We saw him at many of the national races and he always took time to talk to the kids about their racing. His death has hit the racing community very hard, even those of us who only casually knew him from the races. My boy idolized Kurt and got a huge momento to remember him by this year when Kurt gave him his goggles when he came in off the first loop into the pits.

At many of the youth National Hare & Hound events it was not uncommon to see Kurt come over and help pit the kids and give them words of encouragement when they left. He was usually there at the end to hand out trophies. I count myself as one of the lucky ones who has crossed paths with this great person.

Here is an interview Kurt did with my sports guy the week before the Cherry Creek National: www.koal.net/dts/caselli/kurt

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Such a sad situation... this happened just a few miles up the race course from our camp (RM780) and while we didn't hear about it until later that evening it struck a somber chord with everyone down there, we had watched him race by RM60 earlier that day and he was bound for a top finish. RIP Kurt!

 

[Greg]

Just a little more information, sounds like he hit a big animal...

These are the facts of what happened to KURT CASELLI at RM 792.
(per Skyler Howes and Ivan Ramirez)

KTM had just pitted Kurt at RM 779. 13 miles later is where Kurt had crashed. The first person on scene was a spectator named "Turtle". Kurt was still breathing at this time. After many minutes, Turtle left to go get help. He did not want to leave but had no choice. This was in a very remote area with sand washes, ravines and trees and hardly any spectators. In the meantime, KTM was re-fueling their helicopter. When they got back in the air, they could not find Kurt - nor could the Honda helicopter. Chris was now getting calls from KTM and SCORE, everyone was looking for Kurt. Kim was working the radios for SCORE and this had now become a Code Red. She was helping us as much as she could. They were all frantically searching. Nobody could find him. We tracked him and told as many as we could what race mile he was at approximately (with Spot trackers, it's not exactly accurate and updates only every 10 or so minutes).

Ivan rode in to find him and he and Ricky Brabec got to Kurt almost at the same time (maybe one right before the other). Ricky on the 4x bike. This was quite a bit of time after Kurt had crashed. Then they started pushing the SOS button on the bike and got the info to KTM and SCORE. Kurt was not breathing at this point. The ambulance arrived at Kurt and now it's night time. They tried to revive him but Kurt had already passed.

After inspection of Kurt's bike, it has been confirmed that he hit a large animal at full speed - either a cow or horse.

Keep praying for Nancy, Caroline and Sarah for many days to come!

Kurt, may the heavens be filled with sweet trails & endless perfect conditions! You have left your mark in the most decent way a human can - with generosity, kindness, and more than an athlete could ever give to a sport! You gave it your heart and your soul. WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Sincerely,

Andy Kirker

 

[anderson750]

This is an incredible account of the Baja tragedy by am ESPN reporter who was embedded with the KTM team.

http://xgames.espn.go.com/rally-moto-x/article/10078322/kurt-caselli-last-ride

 

[cruiseroutfit]

This is an incredible account of the Baja tragedy by am ESPN reporter who was embedded with the KTM team.

http://xgames.espn.go.com/rally-moto-x/article/10078322/kurt-caselli-last-ride

Great read, thanks for sharing.

I did find this rather daunting...

"Kurt was upset," White said. "He was uncomfortable knowing the helicopter wasn't with him. He knew he would be able to communicate with the pit from his radio headset for a few miles, but he said to Anthony [Di Basilio, his mechanic and close friend], 'From [the pit], you're not going to be able to tell me if a horse or a cow is in front of me.'"

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Great read, thanks for sharing.

I did find this rather daunting...

"Kurt was upset," White said. "He was uncomfortable knowing the helicopter wasn't with him. He knew he would be able to communicate with the pit from his radio headset for a few miles, but he said to Anthony [Di Basilio, his mechanic and close friend], 'From [the pit], you're not going to be able to tell me if a horse or a cow is in front of me.'"

Man that is an extremely somber story, rough.

 

[Herzog]

Great read, thanks for sharing.

I did find this rather daunting...

"Kurt was upset," White said. "He was uncomfortable knowing the helicopter wasn't with him. He knew he would be able to communicate with the pit from his radio headset for a few miles, but he said to Anthony [Di Basilio, his mechanic and close friend], 'From [the pit], you're not going to be able to tell me if a horse or a cow is in front of me.'"

Wow yea. I read this last night and that part stood out the most. Not to mention he was breathing up to at least an hour forty-five minutes after the accident. That had to be painful as hell.

 

[Cascadia]

Although a sad story, it is a great article. Very long but worth the time. It's almost like he knew or felt something might happen with the spotting for animals comment and how his fiancé said he was very different before this race compared to all others. He was very relaxed and not stressing. Just enjoying life and looking to the future. It's a sad day for all involved though.