Tomizawa response to be investigated
Added on Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Tomizawa response to be investigated
Italian safety officers will launch an official investigation into the death of Shoya Tomizawa following his fatal accident at Misano in Sunday’s Moto2 race, according to reports in Italy.
An inquest into the cause of 19-year-old’s death will take place after concerns were raised over how the incident was handled by Race Direction and trackside marshalls, who were both largely criticised for their response to the accident that involved the Japanese rider, Brit Scot Redding and Alex de Angelis.
Tomizawa was killed after coming off his bike on lap 12 of the San Marino Moto2 race and being unavoidably struck by the chasing Redding and de Angelis
De Angelis walked away from the accident unharmed but both Redding and Tomizawa were left laying on the circuit. Marshalls rushed to both riders but their actions have been criticised after Redding was seemingly “bundled” onto stretcher whilst the stretcher carrying Tomizawa was seemingly dropped by medics.
MotoGP medical teams defended the response, claiming that their priority was to move the riders from the circuit into waiting ambulances as quickly as possible, although such an approach neglects the possibility to spinal injuries. Similar criticisms were levelled at Japanese marshals following the death of Darijiro Kato at Suzuka in 2003.
The inquest will also look into the decision not to red-flag the race following the incident, a decision defended by Dorna.
