old Doug Henry question

[funktree]

I just watched the Budd's Creek 250's yesterday, they had a flashback clip from 1995 with Doug Henry attemping to reach orbit. I wasn't following the sport back then as I was in college back then and my brain was occupied by beer and girls.

What's the full story on that jump? Did he do it on purpose? How hurt was he? He didn't look too good as they were carrying him off the track. That was one of the craziest things I've seen in MX.

 

[nikki]

He broke his back, returned to racing during the 1996 SX season with a fused spine, and then won the 250 MX title in 1998 on the YZ 400F! :ride:

 

[Ol'89r]

What's the full story on that jump? Did he do it on purpose? How hurt was he? QUOTE]

funktree.

No, he didn't do it on purpose. He hit a bump at the top of the jump and blipped the throttle enough to send him into space. He broke his back on the landing.

Oops, sorry Nikki, looks like we posted at about the same time.

Ol'89r

 

[jsned]

I might be off on this, but didnt he break both of his wrist's at the same track a few years later???/

 

[truespode]

I might be off on this, but didnt he break both of his wrist's at the same track a few years later???/

Yep. He broke both wrists the year before winning the championship.

Ivan

 

[Vic]

Geez, that was ten years ago?

Man, I'm old.

:ahhh:

 

[truespode]

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=Henrycrash

 

[wardy]

I just watched that again and it still is totally amazing, that video is what night mares are made of......what it did do for sure is show what kind of person Henry is, dedication and spirit. Likely why he still is one of the most popular riders out there.

wardy

 

[CaptainObvious]

Jeremy McGrath recounts that jump and resulting crash and gives a good perspective (he was right there!) on it in his autobiography "Wide Open".

 

[Timr]

He broke his back, returned to racing during the 1996 SX season with a fused spine, and then won the 250 MX title in 1998 on the YZ 400F! :ride:

Fused spine is kinda an understatement. I'm no doctor, but if I remember the detals of what they did medically to his back, it went something like this: They built a titanium cage to go in place of two vertabrae, then the grafted some bone from his hip to go into the cage in hopes that it would grow and fill in the gaps. I think it was kinda experimental at the time. Maybe some of the Dr. types on this board know more the details of this kind of procedure.

 

[XRpredator]

I like how in the Video you can see McGrath (who was batting Henry for the title) lets off when he hears Henry pinning his machine, then you see MC just kinda coast down the hill while Henry achieves a sub-orbital escape velocity. Then Henry, tough as nails, just hopes he can ride it out.

What if he could have? I think he'd be a 3 or 4 time 250 champ, and maybe even a couple SX titles.

 

[JMD]

I don't know of anybody who had more heart and determination than Henry -- coming back from that broken back, and then the two broken arms. Whew! That guy is tough.

 

[holyroller1]

Doug Henry, is, and always will be, my favorite rider.

He is THE MAN!!!!!

 

[OldTimer]

I've been telling my sons about that crash for a long time. When I was watching the tape the other day, I was going "HERE'S THE CRASH, HERE'S THE CRASH!", and they knew exactly which crash I was talking about. I never thought I'd see that one again. I guess I'm not the only one who still has that moment etched in thier memory after ten years. It's kinda like the "Wide World of Sports" ski jump guy and the Space Shuttle disaster in one!
I was rooting for Mr. Henry to beat McGrath that day, so he already had fan appeal, I think because of his heart. Now every time I see him race I'm amazed by just how much heart the guy still has.

 

[JMD]

That crash is on a video called "Fox's Greatest Hits," too.

 

[bikepilot]

He is without a doubt my all time favorite rider and a great person.

I was working at Budd's creak for both crashes. The first jump (now named after him) comes after a very fast section (I'm topped out on a 250mx bike with -2 in the rear). Its a steep up hill, sharp point, steep down hill, 180° right turn. Most everyone gets on the brakes hard before the crest of the hill, soaks up as much of it as possible and still floats 2/3rds of the way down the hill. Henry for whatever reason (most think it was caused by some bumps prior to the jump) didn't even let off, much less brake. He launched super high - so high that his wheels clipped a speaker wire - landed at the bottom of the hill (probably a 140 foot drop) on flat ground, his frame visably flexed, and he and the bike bounced a couple of times before he came off. He was carted off and his bike was quickly carted off to the honda truck. Word in the pits was that the forks and frame were both badly damaged.

The second crash was on a up-hill double called the big gulp. Henry didn't do anything wrong this time. He was on a works YZ400 (this was before yamaha had a production YZ400). Emig had rammed him in a turn near the scoring tower and ripped a rad hose off his bike. Of course he had no way of knowing this. His bike suddenly locked up (rear wheel skidding) just as he left the jump face. This caused him to plow into the face of the second jump in a front-wheel down aditude. Again, he trid to ride it out, but both wrists/arms broke upon impact. He couldn't get his goggles or helmet off so he ran to the side lines where some fans helped him get his gear off.

After the first injury doctors said he would not be able to walk after they "fixed" him up. He and his wife said that was not good enough. He went a week without medical treatment (he had several broken vertibra and ribs) untill they found a doctor willing to try a previously untested procedure involving some sort of ti sleave that was to be fitted over his spinal column. He went for it and it worked well:)

 

[flynbryan]

Man I'm starting to feel old too....... 10 years ago....? :(

That day Doug permanently marked his spot in my book as my favorite rider. The heart and determination that guy has is just unbelieveable. I knew of him back in 91-92 when he was a privateer(any old schoolers remember when he launched his yz125 off one of the bowl turns onto the concrete?), but after that day and his return I was a fan from then on. Yamaha took a big chance with Doug and he rewarded them BIG.

I was there in person as well. I was on the other side of the track and he was jumping down the hill towards us. It really was gut wrenching....... We thought he was dead until he started moving. It was unreal. I didn't even see it till you could literally hear people screaming in fear from that side of the track. I looked in that direction and didn't even see him right away until he dropped from the sky into my line of view. Thank God he's still here with us today and continues to impress all of us.

I'm always glad to see him out there riding again, and his win in the GNCC's earlier this year is just once again an example of his unwillingness to give up. Henry gets a BIG :cool: from me. I don't care what place he comes in, he always be my favorite on the track. :nod: