The fourth race of the MotoGP World Championship 2020 was filled with drama. The luckiest riders on the grid were arguably the factory Yamaha men – Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales, as they were inches away from getting cannonball’d.
The Redbull Ring incident actually took place between Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli on Turn 3 of the Austrian circuit. As Zarco passed Morbidelli and tried to take a defensive line while braking, Morbidelli’s front wheel touched Zarco’s rear wheel.
As the crash happened over 250 km/hr, the motorcycle went straight through the gravel and flew on the track. The bikes nearly took out Valentino and Vinales in the process, and it was just millimetres away from what could’ve been a life-threatening disaster.
Luckily, all riders were okay and survived any major injuries. But the incident dented the mental situation of Vinales and Rossi. Both riders looked absolutely traumatized from the incident, yet they somehow returned to the track to finish the race after merely 5 minutes of escaping death.
Post race, Rossi said that the incident shook him and that it devastated his girlfriend as well. He also said that he knows how aggressive this sport can get, but one should always respect other riders and not do anything to put others in harm’s way.
The Spaniard, however, has raised some important questions. Vinales said there isn’t sufficient run-off area on Turn 3 of the Redbull Ring, especially for someone at 300+ km/hr. The air fence around T3 also didn’t really slow down Morbidelli’s bike much as it went straight through the air fence and on the track.
Currently, there’s no news whether the officials will make any immediate changes to the circuit. Even though the next race will also take place at the Redbull ring. But someone was definitely looking over Rossi and Vinales, which saved them from a potential career-ending disaster.
Redbull Ring Incident
- The incident took place at the Redbull Ring during the fourth round of the MotoGP world championship 2020
- As Zarco and Morbidelli’s bikes touched at over 250 km/hr, they almost collected Rossi and Vinales with them
- The incident has raised a few questions over the safety measures at the Austrian Circuit
