www.richiemorrisracing.com/News.html -
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Last Visited: 12/8/2007
Update THURSDAY 7/19: Shawn is gaining strength and appreciates all of the e-cards being sent.As of today there is no word on his release.He will be confined to a wheelchair for some time.
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Richie Morris Racing rider Shawn Higbee and his teammate, Dan Bilansky, were leading the GST class by three laps at the time of the accident, which was reportedly caused by contact with another rider and resulted in a red flag that brought the scheduled three-hour race to an early end after 163 laps.
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Higbee remains in fair condition at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines with a compound-fractured femur and a broken pelvis and shoulder.SpeedWerks.com Suzuki rider Brian Kcraget of Danville, Va., who was following Higbee and reportedly crashed after striking debris from Higbee's motorcycle, is in critical condition in a medically induced coma after being transported by helicopter to the same hospital.
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Update TUESDAY 7/17: SunTrust MOTO-ST Series riders Shawn Higbee and Brian Kcraget continue to improve at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa following an accident in Saturday's series debut at the 1.3-mile, nine-turn Iowa Speedway stadium road course in Newton, Iowa.
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Higbee was entering Turn 2 when he crashed into the outside retaining wall.His No. 8 Richie Morris Racing Buell XB12 continued further down the race track after the impact and burst into flames, and the bike was later hit by Kcraget's No. 87 SpeedWerks.com Suzuki SV650.
The race, which was immediately red flagged, was later declared complete after 166 laps.Both riders were transported to Mercy where, according to attending family and team members, they have improved since the initial condition evaluations issued late Saturday evening.
Higbee, of Oconomowoc, Wis., suffered a compound femur fracture in one of his legs and breaks to his pelvis and shoulder.He was initially in serious condition but upgraded to fair following successful surgery late Saturday evening.
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The team won the GST race, but suffered a devastating loss with the injury of rider Shawn Higbee.With approximately 30 laps remaining RMR riders Shawn Higbee and Dan Bilansky had a 3 lap advantage and were on their last fuel load.
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Shawn had another rider under him and contact was made.The result was Shawn hitting the wall and the bike exploding.
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Shawn is not only my rider, he is my friend.
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Update SUNDAY 7/15: Shawn is alert and talking.Surgery late, last night corrected a compound broken femur with a rod.Shawn also sustained a broken pelvis and a dislocated shoulder.He remains in a Des Moines hospital awaiting release and transport back to Wisconsin.
Update SATURDAY 7/14: The fears of riders came true when a firey crash in the banking ended today's MOTO-ST race 33 minutes early at Iowa Speedway, with Richie Morris Racing's Shawn Higbee transported to a hospital in an ambulance and Brian Kcraget of the Speedwerks.com Suzuki team--who crashed trying to avoid Higbee--transported in critical condition via a helicopter.
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According to MOTO-ST President Roger Edmondson, Higbee and his crashed bike separately hit the wall outside the banking and then slid down the banking.
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Kcraget, who Edmondson said was 21 seconds behind Higbee and came upon the scene after a full-course yellow had been issued and after the pace car and several other riders had passed the crash scene, fell and slid past the burning bike and the prone Higbee.
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He didn't hit the bike and didn't hit the wall, he fell onto the track, apparently trying to avoid Higbee.
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Boasting the talents of well-known pilots Shawn Higbee and Dan Bilansky, they are hoping to take their third victory at Elkhart Lake and lengthen their point lead.
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With their knowledge of the track, I definitely think that Shawn and Dan will do well and I know that our entire team will be doing their utmost to take the win."
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A test technician and development rider for Buell, Higbee, who resides in Oconomowoc, Wis., has been racing for the past 18 years.
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"We are ready," says Brotz, who, along with Shawn Higbee was part of the winning Richie Morris Racing SunTrust MOTO-ST Series GST team at Virginia International Raceway.
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While other GST competitors succumbed to mechanical problems or crashes, Richie Morris Racing riders Shawn Higbee and Clint Brotz kept up a fast and steady pace and rolled to a five-lap advantage by the end of the three-hour endurance race, covering 82 laps to finish in 11th place overall.
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"The other guys had some bad luck but we kept our head down and kept a steady pace," Higbee said.
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Shawn Higbee and Dan Bilansky will once again be the riders.
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The riders, Shawn Higbee and Dan Bilansky then set a blistering pace to run down the field.
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The riders will be Shawn Higbee who is sponsored by Bartels H.D. Buell / New Castle Buell and Clint Brotz.
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Shawn Higbee and Clint Brotz rode a flawless race to end the 500k race with a 5 lap lead.
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"We had great pit stops and Shawn is back to true form on the track.
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Also thanks to John Brunner of Manitowoc and Shawn's parents for all of their help in the pits.
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Richie Morris Racing Riders, Shawn Higbee and Clint Brotz being interviewed on Victory Lane, April 29th, 2007 at Virginia International Raceway after a first place finish!
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Road America, ELKHART LAKE WI 8 July 07 -- The Grand Sport Twins (GST) class win went to Richie Morris Racing, which had Shawn Higbee and Dan Bilansky riding a Buell XB12R.
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Higbee said the team had a flawless race and perfectly-timed a pit stop during a Safety Car period.
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UPDATE 7/27: Shawn Higbee has been released from the Des Moines hospital and has started therapy in Oconomowoc WI.
Get well soon Shawn!!
Shawn is pictured (right) giving advice to young rider Billy Veatch at Road America.
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Shawn Higbee is getting better everyday.I am sure you will see him with the team in October.I think it might be pushing it to have him on the bike, but it is not out of the question.We are looking forward to next year and having Shawn on the new Buell 1125, so we don't want to rush things.
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Shawn Higbee, who returned this weekend fully recovered from injuries sustained in the series' last race at Iowa Speedway, had the bike in the top three in class earlier in the race.
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In addition, Shawn Higbee is first in the GST rider point's battle and we want to snag that title too."
Boasting the talents of Higbee, Dan Bilansky and Clint Brotz, there is no doubt that this team can do precisely what they set out to do.
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"This should be a really good event for us," says Higbee who is fully recovered from the crash he sustained in mid-July at Iowa Speedway.Suffering a compound broken femur, a dislocated shoulder and broken shoulder bone, plus a hip joint fracture, Higbee wasn't about to have to sit out this race."In the beginning the doctors didn't think it was possible," explains Higbee."But I beat their expectations.This is not the first time, I've broken bones and luckily I tend to recover pretty fast.I've done a lot of physical therapy and am bicycling every day.Come race day, I'll definitely be good to go."
A test technician and development rider for Buell, Higbee, who hails from Oconomowoc, Wis., has been racing for the past 18 years and has earned numerous victories and titles, including the 1998 Harley-Davidson World Championship.
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"Shawn and I have been teammates at every race with the exception of Virginia and that time our other teammate Clint (Brotz) worked with Shawn.
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"Shawn and I have been teammates at every race with the exception of Virginia and that time our other teammate Clint (Brotz) worked with Shawn.
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17 Sep 07 Elkhart Lake, WI - Shawn Higbee will be back on the RMR / Daytona H.D. Buell at the Suntrust 8 hours at Daytona race.
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Higbee, who was seriously injured at Iowa Speedway on July 14th, has progressed much faster than expected."A month ago I would have never dreamed of having this conversation.I truly felt Shawn would be out until next season.
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