Shoya Tomizawa killed in Moto2 crash

[JackFrost]

Just 19 years old.

 

Horrendous crash, slid off his bike and got run over by 2 other riders including GBs Scott redding.

Edited 5 September, 2010 by JackFrost

[Hatch]

Just watched the clip on youtube, horrific.

[SuperMikey]

Absolutely awful, poor bloke. RIP

[St Landrew]

He was a really strong rider, even at his tender age. Shoya was apparently extremely popular around the paddock, and all the riders were visibly moved when they commented about his death. I remember seeing him in 250s 2-strokes, last season and this season he naturally moved onto Moto2, the 600cc 4-stroke successor to the 250s. Immediately, he was very fast and won the first race in Qatar. He really looked the business too and was invariably chasing near the front of the huge Moto2 pack. Great little racer.

 

RIP Shoya.

 

There has already been some criticism of the marshalls at the Misano circuit. The race was not stopped, as there was no debris on the racing line, although Scott Redding was lying injured in the run off area, so perhaps the criticism could be aimed at the race director. However, it didn't help Shoya's condition that the marshalls actually dropped him while he was on the stretcher, although I think his injuries were that bad that it made very little difference. In motorcycle or sidecar racing, once you part with the machine, the best place to be is off the track, and Shoya had fallen on the racing line. Questions will almost certainly be asked of the conduct of the marshalls and race direction, but if you're run over by two following riders, at 170mph, your injuries will almost certainly be life threatening. Being hit by a fellow competitor is pretty much the most dangerous aspect of racing, whatever the track motorsport.

[Hatch]

The other 2 riders have got to live (and ride) with the fact that, although completely unavoidable, it was them that hit him and caused his fatal injuries.

A massive 'what if' moment.

[Saint137]

Fortunately I was out this morning so missed it, is Scott Redding OK physically? Very tough for him he's only a young lad but they all know and take the risks. I do feel that the large fields contribute to these deaths, there have been a couple over the years in Supersports in similar circumstances. And bike marshalling does seem to be poor, they undoubtedly played a role in Daijiro Katoh's death

[Gorgiesaint]

A sad day for motorsport so soon after the loss of Peter Lenz at the Indianapolis GP weekend last week. Didn't see it live so can't comment on the marshalling but if the race wasn't stopped then that needs to be looked at. I don't think the large field played any part in this accident, Shoya was just unlucky that his mistake meant he fell on the racing line at one of the fatest points of the circuit & that Alex De Angelis & Scott Redding were just behind him with no chance to react.

 

RIP Shoya

[St Landrew]

Fortunately I was out this morning so missed it, is Scott Redding OK physically?

 

I don't think the large field played any part in this accident, Shoya was just unlucky that his mistake meant he fell on the racing line at one of the fatest points of the circuit & that Alex De Angelis & Scott Redding were just behind him with no chance to react.

 

RIP Shoya

 

Scott Redding is physically OK. He had some stitches in his behind or back, but being 17 he basically bounced everywhere. As always, I've recorded every race from today, and playing back the incident, shows Scott being catapulted out of his seat. De Angelis is OK too. Both are hugely upset that they've accidentally contributed to a fellow rider's death. To be fair, there was nothing they could have done.

 

I also agree in thinking that large fields of riders don't contribute to fatal accidents. Perhaps extremely large ones, like Moto2, can make the level of incident higher, but the accident involving Shoya, Scott and Alex could have happened in any of the classes. Dorna want to restrict the field, next season, to 35 bikes. They'll be lucky, as apparently teams are clamouring to get into Moto2, because it costs so relatively little, compared to the 250s of last season, and because it has been a massive hit of racing competition. Of course there is a balance that needs to be struck. On the one hand, fans have been saying that the 800cc event in MotoGP has become a bit boring because there are only 16 or 17 machines at any one time, and the field needs to increase to at least 25-30 riders. Dorna have said 24 for 2012, and no less than Casey Stoner has added that he thinks that ought to be a minimum. So the riders want the competition, but some people might regard that as extra danger. Motorcycle racing is a truly dangerous motorsport and the slightest of slight mistakes can have very bad consequences.

Edited 5 September, 2010 by St Landrew

[chrisobee]

I actually find it amazing that riders escape pretty much unscathed from so many crashes that seem awful when you are watching. It's clearly not the fault of anyone that this tragedy happened though for sure Redding and De Angelis will feel particularly bad tonight. I think I am correct in saying one of the worst crashes in which the late Barry Sheene was involved in was in practice when he was unfortunate enough to meet a bike on the track after just one rider had come off so absolutely nothing to do with the size of the field.

[Saint137]

It seems though that virtually every Moto2 race this year there has been a multi- bike accident of the type rarely seen in 500/MotoGP. Whilst Shoya's accident wasn't in the pack the more riders there are and the closer the racing is the more likely this sort of thing will happen. Agree that the field is too small in the top class and that Moto2 is spectacular with so many bikes but I do feel they'd already dodged a few bullets this season - see also the Supersport crash at Silverstone.