Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa died from injuries sustained in a crash in the San Marino Moto2 Grand Prix yesterday.
The 19-year-old Technomag-CIP rider came off his Suter bike when under pressure from fast-charging Italian Alex de Angelis. Neither de Angelis nor British rider Scott Redding were able to avoid hitting Tomizawa, who was propelled more than 40m off the track into gravel.
Tomizawa was in his first season in the Moto2 category and had begun it in style by winning the curtain raiser in Qatar. He followed it up with second in the second race of the season in Spain, but his form had tailed off since then and he was seventh in the overall standings.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The three podium finishers in the MotoGP race which followed were in shock at the news, their joy at their personal results firmly set aside to pay homage to Tomizawa.
“It feels so strange, there is a big hole inside me,” race winner Dani Pedrosa told the BBC.
“I was so happy and then I was told [about the death] and this big hole opened up inside me,” the 24-year-old Spaniard said.
Reigning champion Valentino Rossi of Italy was all but in tears.
“When it happens like this, nothing else matters,” Rossi told the BBC. “I saw the crash on TV and it was terrifying. I thought he was dead. I am very sorry, but then we had to race, and try and concentrate. Shoya was a very funny guy and a nice one too,”
MotoGP series leader Jorge Lorenzo — who finished second in the MotoGP — was shell shocked.
“Yes, it is so sad, so sad,” he told the BBC. “It is better not to say anything about the race.”
TO THE TOP: After securing the international title on Saturday, Team Taiwan were to face Las Vegas to potentially win their 18th Little League World Series championship A team from Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School won the Little League Baseball World Series’ international title on Saturday by defeating Aruba 1-0 in the annual baseball tournament held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Taiwan team, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, were after press time last night to face a team from Las Vegas, Nevada, which beat a team from Fairfield, Connecticut, in the US championship 8-2. Taiwan are seeking to win their first Little League Baseball World Series title since 1996. “Really haven’t taken a moment to data dump right now on Taiwan,” Nevada manager T.J. Fescher said. “They’re a
‘CATASTROPHE’: Despite losing several key forwards in the summer transfer window, Bayern were up 3-0 in the first half before Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in the second Harry Kane hit a hat-trick, Michael Olise a double and newcomer Luis Diaz also scored as Bayern Munich made a “statement” against RB Leipzig 6-0 at home in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday. Bayern’s big-money arrivals, all brought in from the Premier League across the past three seasons, were dominant as the Bavarians begun their title defense in style. Olise scored twice in the first half, either side of a Diaz strike. Not to be outdone, Kane scored three goals in the second half — with two assists coming from Diaz, to bring Bayern’s total to 6-0. Kane told the Bundesliga
Kevin de Bruyne is to lead SSC Napoli’s Serie A title defense today when he makes his full debut at promoted US Sassuolo, but the champions head into the new season rocked by a long-term injury to star striker Romelu Lukaku. De Bruyne was, alongside aging icon Luka Modric, the big new name to arrive in Italy this summer and fans were hoping his linkup with Belgium teammate Lukaku would push Napoli to success both at home and in their return to the UEFA Champions League. The 34-year-old has suffered from hamstring injuries which caused him to miss significant chunks of the
Marc Marquez continued his winning streak as he cruised to victory in the Hungarian GP sprint by two seconds on Saturday night to pad his championship lead. It was a seventh straight Sprint victory for the Spaniard, who has also won the last six longer Sunday grand prix races on his factory Ducati. Fabio Di Giannantonio, an Italian with the VR46 Ducati satellite team was a distant second at Balaton Park, followed by his team-mate and compatriot Franco Morbidelli third. Marquez, a six-time world champion, started the race from pole position. “I felt someone really close on the first corner, from there I
RSS