Triumph and tragedy at the San Marino MotoGP

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 13:29

Written by Editor

Moto2 rider Shoya Tomizawa dies from multiple injuries after horror crash as Dani Pedrosa won the San Marino MotoGP for Honda, beating fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo and Italian Valentino Rossi on their Yamahas.

But the race was overshadowed by the death of Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa in the preceding Moto2 event. Tomizawa, who rode for Technomag-CIP, was travelling at full speed when he highsided and went down hard, and was then hit by the bikes of Alex De Angelis and British rider Scott Redding.

Tomizawa was treated at the circuit and then taken to the Riccione Hospital on the Adriatic coast where he died. He had completed 15 laps before the accident, which happened in dry conditions. The race continued and the riders were informed of Tomizawa's death after it finished.

A statement on the MotoGP website said Tomizawa sustained fatal injuries to his head, chest and abdominal areas. It added: "Everybody involved in MotoGP extends its deepest condolences to Shoya's family and friends at this tragic loss."The race was  eventually won by Spain's Toni Elias.

In the main event Pedrosa, 24, started from pole and never relinquished his grip on the race to score his fourth victory of the campaign ahead of overall leader Lorenzo. Pedrosa's victory keeps the pressure on Lorenzo - who had a 68-point lead going into this race - for the overall title with six races left in the season.

While Pedrosa opened a four-second lead over Lorenzo with 17 laps to go, Stoner and Rossi were having a terrific ding-dong battle behind them  with Rossi finally getting the better of Stoner on his Ducati, the team that the charismatic Italian will join next season.