MotoGP rocked by death of Tomizawa

The MotoGP paddock was left reeling by the death of Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa following a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix.

During the opening stint an exciting battle for the lead involved seven riders but on lap 12 Tomizawa lost control of his Technomag Suter while running fourth and crashed directly in front of Alex de Angelis and Scott Redding. The incident occurred on the back straight where a series of right hand corners force riders to lose as little speed as possible and carry momentum from one apex to the next. While travelling at almost top speed Tomizawa lost the front end of his bike as he braked and ran slightly wide onto the artificial grass upon which he lost control of his bike which spun violently back onto the race track after touching the artificial grass. Tomizawa was thrown off his bike and fell back onto the racing line.

Racing in such close proximity to his rivals at such speed meant that the trailing riders, Alex de Angelis and Scott Redding, had nowhere to go, and no chance of avoiding Tomizawa. Both riders rode over the 19 year old Japanese rider before having their own crashes. De Angelis suffered no injuries and Redding was lucky to suffer only cuts to his back and bruising after he was thrown into the air following the crash.

Tomizawa’s crash was an innocuous accident by itself but with riders in such close proximity the dangers are clear for everyone to see. While the crash in itself was impossible to avoid; what happened afterwards evoked memories of darker days in racings past.

Following the crash millions of television viewer’s worldwide saw the marshals man handle Scott Redding onto a stretcher, one could only assume Tomizawa suffered a similar fate. When riders are involved in a serious accident such as this it is imperative that marshals do not move the rider for risk of further injuries, until he is under complete medical supervision, from the footage of the incident it is clear that this was not the case.

To compound the errors of the marshals in moving riders so quickly the stretcher carrying the stricken Tomizawa was dropped while ferrying the fatally injured rider through a gravel trap to an ambulance. The doctors on the scene immediately noted that the injuries were too severe to be treated at the circuit’s medical facilities and transferred him to a local hospital from where his death was announced.

Tomizawa, winner of the inaugural Moto2 race in Qatar, entered the season as a relative unknown following years of racing in Japanese championships and just a solitary year in Grand Prix, spent running in the midfield in the 250cc class. But the change to Moto2 gave him a chance to showcase his abilities. Throughout pre season testing it was clear that Tomizawa was a rider to keep an eye on but it was only when the season opened in Qatar that he truly showcased his abilities by winning.

Tomizawa knew that it was now important to show that Qatar was not a flash in the pan and that he was a true contender for the title. At the next race, the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, he qualified on pole position. This was another race where he left his mark, following a crash Tomizawa left oil strewn across the circuit forcing the race to be stopped. In the restarted race Tomizawa finished second and showed that he would be a challenger throughout the season. He qualified on pole once more at Brno.

This was the first death in a Grand Prix since 2003 when Daijiro Kato, ironically another Japanese star, died following a crash during the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Since then track safety standards have improved but the use of artificial grass surely needs to be looked at in future. While organisers can account for so much, freak accidents such as Tomizawa’s can still occur. That this came just one week since 13 year old American rider Peter Lenz died during a support race for the Indianapolis Grand Prix has surly compounded the need for organiser’s to investigate further the standards expected of circuits and marshals.

The reasons why motorsport is such a compelling experience for fans and competitors are also the reasons why a tragedy like this can occur. The motor racing family lost a son this weekend and the land of the rising sun lost arguably its most promising young rider.