Our History
1998 – 2000 Just Talk
By, 1999 the industry was talking about having medical help beyond the traditional ambulance services. Several physicians around the country were common volunteers at Professional races, working whenever they could if a race was near. They would show up with their medical bag and run with the ambulance people. Some teams or organizations would sponsor a doctor for the weekend, but it was hit or miss with support at less than half of the events nationally. Dr. John “Doc” Bodnar was one of those Doctors and because Southern California was a center for Pro racing, he was able to attend several times during a series. All of the riders knew him and were relieved when a familiar face was helping.
Todd Jendro, manager of the Live Nations Supercross series had his eyes open for anything that would help the riders and promote a safer event and was encouraged by the conversations. The American Motorcyclist Association was equally interested in seeing this happen; however, no one had stepped up with a plan or took the lead.
Tom Carson, a retired pro racer and rider representative for Asterisk heard the same story from his riders and factory team managers. If injured, they would have to leave a race, visit a local emergency hospital and spend hours and lots of money to just to get a diagnosis. Tom put the numbers together and approached the owners of Asterisk, Jim and Dave Castillo and received a commitment to sponsor a Physician through the series. By 2000, Tom had created an outline for a program of Medical care that could be accomplished with support from factories, sponsors, and promoters. What started in conversation and the notes on Tom’s desk became the blueprint that is today’s Medic Rig, a one of a kind state-of-the-art onsite mobile facility.
- A traveling Physician to support riders and offer consistent emergency care.
- Safe patient transportation for difficult terrain.
- A dedicated traveling trailer to carry medical equipment, supplies and offer a headquarters for the Dr. and volunteers.
- Additional support staff to provide specialized care and implement safety standards for the Sport.
- A full team style Medical facility to join the series’ and keep it at the forefront of research and information.
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After Asterisk decided to fund the effort it was time to approach a Physician. Dr. John “Doc” Bodnar has been a consistent presence at Southern California races since 1992. He had begun trackside as a flagger, he knew the riders, had resources in the area, and was definitely the right man for the job. He shared duties with other physicians when he could not attend, but most important was that the process had begun and American professional Supercross had a series Physician. When Supercross was over, the Road 2 Recovery Foundation sponsored the Medical presence for the Motocross series. There was now an expectation of this added safety net. Asterisk headquarters decided to provide a Physician at every Supercross and Motocross. -
In January 2002, at the San Diego Supercross, a crash took Steve Lamson out with a compound fracture of his tibia and fibula. Loading a guerney across an ATV to get him to Medical Care was a near calamity. Tom Carson and Live Nations main man, Todd Jendro watched from the side and set a plan in motion. Within 3 weeks, Kawasaki was on-board with a donated Mule, while Craig Adams joined Carson to engineer a secure transport system. While the design has been refined over the years, it was a breakthrough in managing patient transportation in the track side environment.What comes next – How to do you get the Mule from event to event? -
For the next year, the new Mule was hauled to races by several people, but most notably, Scott Swinehart, in the Bridgestone/ EBC Brake trailer. In 2003, the first Asterisk Mobile Medical Center was added to the pro pits. Asterisk had branded a truck and small trailer to support the mule, supplies and some privacy for services. The crew had grown to include Eddie Casillas, our Certified Athletic Trainer and a Registered Nurse when possible. Most help was volunteer, but a small fund from donations paid travel expenses for Eddie. AMA provided a driver and Asterisk added the truck expenses to their donation. In two years, services were consistent through an alliance between Asterisk and the AMA, who was supported by factories and small individual donors. Professional Supercross and Motocross stepped forward as the first in our sport with a dedicated, staffed, mobile emergency center. -
In August 2006, the next generation of Medical care arrived at the Spring Creek Motocross Park. A full Semi-tractor trailer rig. In fact, it was a retired race trailer which had been converted into a Mobile Emergency Treatment center. With this new treatment and diagnosis facility we could carry the equipment we needed to really to the job, rider injuries no longer meant the end of their day.The Mobile Medical Center was large enough to transport our two emergency Mules and offer up to three care areas in addition to the Nurse’s station. There was some new special purpose equipment tailored to our sport. The new Asterisk Mobile Medical Center was at every race providing an athletic trainer, physical therapist, registered nurse and often two physicians.
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In addition to providing trackside evaluation and emergency care, the Medical Program had a goal of enhancing safety within our sport. The effects of concussion was a topic of great interest throughout impact sports. The Medic Rig had practical data that could add to ongoing research and saw an opportunity to contribute and benefit.
Medical Director, John Bodnar MD, asked Dr. Paul Reiman and Eddie Casillas to investigate, propose a program, and lead the integration of proactive defense against Concussion in the sport. The new Cognitive Testing was successfully introduced in the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro AMA Motocross Championship and made Mandatory in 2013 at the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series Championship.
The program utilizes the ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) neurocognitive test program, the same used my NFL Sports and many others. Today, All Athletes are now required to participate in baseline testing prior to receiving credentials for racing AMA professional Supercross or Motocross series’.
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2016 brought the first change of sponsorship in the history of the Medical Center. Alpinestars saw the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to “Alpinestars Protects” by protecting the athletes of professional Supercross and Motocross. This new partnership paved the way to more than a name change, Alpinestars provided the means to provide an unequaled level of emergency and trauma care. -
2017 is the year that the Medic Rig grew into it’s goals. We now have combined our knowledge and experience to build an emergency treatment center that meets the needs of the sport, riders, and our crew. The NEW “Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit” is designed for the efficient transition from intake to release.Our previous transportation was 20 years old, non-compliant and unreliable. We never missed a race, but we were towed into a few. Maintenance was wasting valuable dollars. The new 53 ft aluminum trailer and new-to-us Peterbilt tractor offer much more than fuel economy. The 3-axle frame allows for better weight distribution to accomodate the extra lbs as we now carry our three transport Mules.
The interior environment is maintained by four Heating & AC units, and the lighting is vastly improved. All Monitors and electronics were upgraded and medical equipment is permanently mounted. The larger onboard Generator easily powers demand. Bungee corded shelves have been replaced with cabinets to keep supplies organized and clean. The larger slide added square footage to the treatment area and we have additional seating in the Crew lounge.
The decision to press ahead with the new face was necessary and Alpinestars multi-year contract supporting our efforts came at the right time. It is with confidence in our abilities and the support of Monster Energy Supercross Series and the Lucas Oil Outdoor Motocross Championship that we look to a safer and bright future.
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