Zarco: Big scare, very lucky
Update:
...Rossi called today's incident 'terrifying'. Many riders 'close the door' during braking now, in all classes. Wants more respect among riders. Thought Zarco tried to block Morbidelli, who had no chance to brake. Rossi said Zarco told them he didn't do anything on purpose.
Update:
...Rossi called today's incident 'terrifying'. Many riders 'close the door' during braking now, in all classes. Wants more respect among riders. Thought Zarco tried to block Morbidelli, who had no chance to brake. Rossi said Zarco told them he didn't do anything on purpose.
— Peter McLaren (@McLarenMotoGP) August 16, 2020
Johann Zarco posted the following video message (since removed) following Sunday's shocking accident with Franco Morbidelli at the Austrian MotoGP.
The Frenchman had just overtaken Morbidelli for eighth place when the pair tangled on the exit of the ultra-fast left-hand kink leading to Turn 3.
The contact, Morbidelli's front wheel appearing to clip Zarco's rear wheel, caused both riders to fall heavily, with their bikes then spearing straight on towards the riders ahead of them at Turn 3.
While Zarco's Ducati hit a tyre wall before flying across the track, Morbidelli's machine cartwheeled through the narrow space between fellow Yamaha riders Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi. The race was immediately stopped.
" I'm okay. I've got some burns here [on my arm], and my hips and leg. We had a really big scare," Zarco said in the Instagram message.
"I have seen Morbidelli also and we were both sorry about what's happened. It was a racing incident that is sometimes difficult to avoid at this speed. Also, our bikes didn't touch anyone, so very lucky today.
"All is fine, just need to analyse everything well and work for next week. I will be fit to race. Thank you for all your support."
Like Zarco, Morbidelli was conscious throughout but initially needed some medial assistance at the side of the circuit before being moved to the Medical Centre.
The Italian's Petronas Yamaha team later issued the following update: "Franco is okay. His right hand, right shoulder and head took the brunt of his crash but he did not lose consciousness at any point. He has undergone a CT scan, which showed that there are no major issues. Franco is currently in the Clinica Mobile undergoing minor treatments."
The second Red Bull Ring event takes place next weekend.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
