In a chaotic few moments during the start of the Superbike race today, disaster was narrowly averted. When the Superbike riders came down the hill from the Corkscrew, ran through turn eleven, made the run up to the bend of turn one and saw ... a "safety car" parked on the right hand side of the track over the cusp of the hill. At "the fastest part of the racetrack" according to Kevin Schwantz.

Riders at the front of the race, including Blake Young and Mat Mladin, said that they did not see the Safety Car/Van until nearly the last moment and were lucky not to collide with the vehicle or be struck from behind by other riders.

In the post-race press conference, multi-time Superbike champion Mat Mladin said that the underlying problem in the US series today is the fear of retribution that the riders and participants have from DMG/AMA. This allegation is nothing new.

"I think the most important thing," Mladin said, "is that everybody around here is actually scared to say what actually happened out there ... because there's always punishment around for opening your mouth or telling it like it is. Nobody is going to open their mouths until probably somebody dies, so nobody is going to do anything abut it. It's a real shame that it has come to this."