Anthony Hart, 21, of Henderson, Nev.
, brother of Carey Hart was critically injured Saturday when he lost control of his motorcycle and hit an outer track barricade at Stafford Motor Speedway’
He died in Hartford Hospital, where he had been taken by helicopter after the 3:30 p.m. crash.
Anthony Hart, known in racing circles as Tony, crashed while practicing for the Doug Henry New England Grand Prix, track officials said in a statement. The event is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association as part of its XTRM Supermoto Championship series. He was 21.
Hart, riding for the Rockstar/Hart & Huntington KTM in the Supermoto Lites class, suffered fatal head injuries when he high-sided on the paved third turn of the oval portion of the race coruse. He was transported to a local hospital where he was declared dead.
Officials from both the AMA and XTRM, the series promoters, refused to confirm his death. It was first confirmed by Stafford Motor Speedway, which issued a statement around 7:00 p.m. that read: "It is with deep regret that the Stafford Motor Speedway announces that during a practice session of the AMA/XTRM sanctioned SuperMoto Event, being held today, rider Anthony Hart, age 21 of Henderson, Nevada, succumbed to injuries received while participating in the event. The Speedway extends their condolences to the family and friends of Anthony Hart.
"
Hart’s father, Tom Hart, was with him at the hospital. Carey Hart was flying to the area from Sturgis, South Dakota.
The death was the first in the six-year history of the AMA Supermoto Championship.
Rockstar/Hart & Huntington team manager praised the young rider.
“Tony is a pretty dedicated guy,” Watson said at the end of a bittersweet night. Rockstar/Hart & Huntington’s Steve Drew won his second Supermoto Unlimited race of the season and teammate Travis Marks finished fourth. “He never really had any kind of focus until he got involved with Supermoto. And the last eight months he’s been just dedicated himself to riding and racing and training. And everyone around him from his family to his friends have never seen him so dedicated with his training and riding.
“He really, really, really enjoyed what he did. He stayed in my room last night and we stayed up until four o’clock in the morning just talking about life and racing. He had a lot of ambition and a lot of goals.
”
Watson was told of Hart’s passing by a state police officer well prior to the heat races. He relayed the news to the team just before the heat races. They discussed withdrawing, but were encouraged by Tom Hart to continue.
“Tony’s dad called me and he said, ‘Tony’s blessings are with you guys and Tony would want you guys to race, no matter what,’”
/
