Motorsport

THIS is the terrifying moment two MotoGP riders crashed at around 200mph as Valentino Rossi somehow cheated death after missing the aftermath by millimetres.
The horrendous incident occurred at the Austrian GP between Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco.

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Morbidelli and Zarco can be seen flung across the groundCredit: BT Sport

If there’s ever a moment to make you question if you want to continue…Valentino Rossi looks visibly shaken after the crash between Morbidelli and Zarco.Rossi’s onboard footage shows the bike bounce over him 😳#AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/5t9DZ3VUWW
— MotoGP on BT Sport (@btsportmotogp) August 16, 2020

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This is how close Rossi came to being smashed by one of the bikesCredit: BT Sport

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All drivers miraculously escaped without major injuriesCredit: BT Sport

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Rossi cheated death by millimetres as the bike is thrown in front of him

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This is Rossi’s view as the second of the two bikes flies passed
As the pair attempted to head flat out down the straight, the two bikes tangled in the breaking area on the second corner.
The two drivers are then thrown like rag dolls across the gravel as the commentators watched on in disbelief.
Both Morbidelli and Zarco’s bikes were totally destroyed but they miraculously escaped without major injuries.
With the two drivers thrown across the ground, both bikes are flung across the track at a remarkable speed.

With shrapnel flying everywhere, the bikes curtail towards the corner where the other racers are approaching.
Unbelievably both bikes luckily miss nine-time world champ Rossi by a whisker.
It would have certainly caused the Italian some serious damage had it smashed into his side at such a pace.
Franco is instantly onto his feet and runs over to his fellow racer to check on his welfare as the red flag is immediately raised.

Moridelli then takes himself to the ambulance so get checked over.
LUCKY ESCAPE
The commentary sums up just how close Rossi was to being hit by the bike.
Almost stunned into silence, one then says: “I can not believe Valentino Rossi there…
“Thank you thank you. That bike misses him by, well…”
The other commentator adds: “Wow. There’s nothing Rossi can do about it. What a mess.”
He later says: “If anything would want to make you retire, that would be it.”
Footage from Rossi’s headcam shows just how close he was to being hit by the loose bike.
He then appears visibly shaken after pulling into the pitstop after finally coming to terms about what had just happened.
Those watching from their sofas were left stunned that Rossi escaped the accident.

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Zarco checks on Morbidelli after the horror crashCredit: BT Sport

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The two flying bikes somehow miss the other racersCredit: BT Sport

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One wrote: “Valentino’s clearly earned some points over the years with whoever’s in charge upstairs.”
Another added: “The racing gods were with Vale today.”
A third said: “Someone was watching over you today.”

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VALENTINO ROSSI has demanded MotoGP take “serious” action against Johann Zarco after the Frenchman was blamed for a nightmare 200mph crash.
Amazingly, no one was hurt after the Ducati star collided with Franco Morbidelli at Red Bull Ring on Sunday.

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Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales were both inches away from being wiped out by the unguided bikes

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The Italian was visibly shaken up after the incident

Both racers were sent tumbling off the track as their bikes flew through the air at terrifying speed, very nearly wiping out Rossi.
And the MotoGP veteran slammed the unnecessary incident after the race, admitting that his girlfriend, Francesca Sofia Novello, was emotionally “destroyed” by the near-miss.
He said: “It was so scary. It was terrifying.
“We have to pray to somebody, everybody has to pray to who he decides.

“But, f***. I feel bad. I was scared, very much. Because today was very dangerous.
“You try to not think about it, but it’s really difficult, and even now it’s not easy. I spoke to my girlfriend already, she is destroyed!

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This is Rossi’s view as one of the bike flies passed

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Zarco and Morbidelli amazingly walked away without serious injuries
“But I haven’t spoken to my mother and [brother] Graziano. Now I will call them for sure. Especially Graziano.”
Morbidelli’s 157kg bike was sent hurtling through the air after the Italian tangled with Zarco, ending up just inches away from Rossi’s front wheel as he took a hairpin turn.

Maverick Vinales also narrowly escaped a horrific accident as Zarco’s unguided vehicle flashed across the Austrian circuit at great pace.
Rossi was left with no doubt that French rider Zarco was to blame – calling for “something serious” to be handed out to the 30-year-old.
As an 18-year, six-time title winning veteran of the sport, the 41-year-old, who finished fifth in Spielberg, called for calmer heads on the track.
Rossi added: “Everybody is very aggressive in MotoGP, and also in the lower classes. I can understand it, but for me it’s important that we don’t exaggerate [the risks].
“You need to have respect for the other riders because we can’t forget that this sport is very dangerous – especially in a track where you have long straights and you always go at 300 km/h.
“What I said is that also from the lower classes, you have a lot of riders who close the door in the face of the others when braking. In Italian we say, ‘frenare in faccia’ – to ‘brake in the face’.

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“Zarco was very wide, and he ‘brakes in the face’ of Franco, maybe to not let Franco overtake him back in braking.
“But he’s too close, and when you are at 300 km/h you have a lot of slipstream, and Franco didn’t have any chance to brake [and avoid contact].
“At the end, there is a lot of risk. We risk a lot, especially me and Maverick. This was a potential disaster.”

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THIS is the terrifying moment two MotoGP riders crashed at around 200mph as Valentino Rossi somehow cheated death after missing the aftermath by millimetres. The horrendous incident occurred at the Austrian GP between Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco. As the pair attempted to head flat out down the straight, the two bikes tangled in the […] More

THIS is the terrifying moment two MotoGP riders crashed at around 200mph as Valentino Rossi somehow cheated death after missing the aftermath by millimetres. The horrendous incident occurred at the Austrian GP between Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco. As the pair attempted to head flat out down the straight, the two bikes tangled in the […] More