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Suter Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa of Japan is attended by medical personnel following a crash during the San Marino motorcycling Grand Prix - Source: Reuters -
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Nineteen-year-old Japanese Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa has died
after a shocking crash during this morning's San Marino
Grand Prix, the second death in the sport in two events.
Doctor Claudio Costa, part of the motorcycling world championship's
medical team, told reporters the news.
Riders in the premier MotoGP class were also informed after their
race, won by Dani Pedrosa.
"I found out now, when things like this happen nothing else
matters," world champion Valentino Rossi told Mediaset
television.
"He was a lovely guy, it was a horrible accident."
Suter's Tomizawa was travelling at full speed when he fell off
before a corner and was hit violently by the bikes of Alex De
Angelis and Scott Redding, who both also tumbled but looked
relatively unhurt.
A 13-year-old also died in a minor race before the Indianapolis
MotoGP in the sport's last grand prix in August.
Motorcycling has always been among motorsport's most dangerous
pursuits given riders are often thrown from their bikes and run the
risk of hitting objects or being struck by other
riders.
Huge speeds
"You forget sometimes how easily something like this can happen.
Sometimes our sport is just too dangerous," MotoGP rider Andrea
Dovizioso said.
Moto2, the new name for the former 250cc category below MotoGP,
still 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 official news of his death had not filtered through before the
start of the MotoGP race so the event went ahead.
Rossi, who suffered a broken leg in an accident before the Italian
Grand Prix in June, led riders in a tribute to another dead
Japanese colleague Daijiro Kato earlier in the week in a ceremony
at Misano.
Kato, who lived in the Misano area, died after an accident at the
Japanese Grand Prix in 2003.
Rossi has worked hard with other riders to try to make the sport
safer but has said there is a limit to how much they can
do.
