A broken clip-on may have put Hayden on the pavement today.

Numerous sources who were on the scene today at the Jerez MotoGP test say that, most likely, an equipment failure caused Nick Hayden's savage high speed crash at the Spanish circuit.

Hayden was augured into the ground on his still-healing shoulder in the crash. He is uninjured, or as uninjured as one can be after crashing at over 100 mph.

"He was up, then down between corners and it really looked like something happened in the front end of the bike," said one source who requested anonymity. "I'd say it was either a wheel failure or the clip-on broke off and put him on the ground."

If true, the incident is an eyebrow-raising ordeal for HRC, a company easily considered the pinnacle of Grand Prix engineering. Hayden has eluded to at least two other "not my fault" crashes since he began his MotoGP career. HRC has since made changes to Hayden's crew, including naming a new crewchief.

While Yamaha has three GP bikes at Jerez, Honda has seven RC211Vs circulating at this test and will enter seven bikes in the 2005 world championship.