Japanese teenager Shoya Tomizawa died after crashing and being hit by two other riders during Sunday’s Moto2 race at the San Marino Grand Prix, the second fatality to hit the sport in two weeks.
The 19-year-old Tomizawa lost control of his bike and hit his head on the track as his bike flipped over. While on the track, he was then hit at full speed by riders Alex De Angelis and Scott Redding.
A statement on the MotoGP Web site said Tomizawa died of cranial, thoracic and abdominal trauma.
Italian news agency ANSA reported that Tomizawa was in a coma when he was flown by helicopter to a hospital.
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The races continued and the riders were only informed of Tomizawa’s death at the end of their event. FOXNews
“I found out now, when things like this happen nothing else matters,” the MotoGP world champion, Valentino Rossi, told Mediaset television. “He was a lovely guy, it was a horrible accident.”
Alex De Angelis and Scott Redding, who both also tumbled looked relatively unhurt.
“You forget sometimes how easily something like this can happen. Sometimes our sport is just too dangerous,” the MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso said.
Moto2, the new name for the former 250cc category below MotoGP, generates huge speeds and officials said they decided to continue with the race after the crash because of the fear of other accidents if a red flag was suddenly shown.
They added that Tomizawa was alive when he was taken from the track and rushed to a local hospital on Italy’s east coast. He was pronounced dead soon after. The Guardian
“Nothing has happened for two years and now we have two deaths in two weeks,” said Carlo Pernat, manager of Loris Capirossi and Marco Simoncelli. “This time it is a boy of only 19 years of age.”
There have been 46 recorded deaths in MotoGP since the series was founded in 1949.
Before 2010, Japan’s Daijiro Kato was the last rider to die from an accident. He crashed during the first race of the 2003 season, at Suzuka in Japan, and died following two weeks in a coma.
The first ever death in MotoGP occurred at the Isle of Man Grand Prix in 1949. Reuben “Ben” Thomas died when he drove into a banking.
The next MotoGP race takes place in Spain on Sept. 19. The Associated Press
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