Pecco Bagnaia slams decision to run Moto3 race after serious crash
Pecco Bagnaia is critical of the decision to run the Moto3 race at Sepang after a serious crash
Double MotoGP world champion Pecco Bagnaia is critical of Dorna’s decision to run the Moto3 race, after two riders were airlifted to hospital following a horror collision.
Reigning Moto3 world champion Jose Antonio Rueda and Swiss racer Noah Dettwiler were involved in a horrific collision on the sighting lap from pitlane to the grid on Sunday morning at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Dettwiler is seen riding slowly on the racing line on his CIP KTM when Rueda, coming at speed, slams into the rear of the Swiss rider’s bike.
There have been unconfirmed reports that Dettwiler may have had a technical issue on his KTM.
Both riders required medical attention trackside before being airlifted to hospital. This led to a lengthy delay to Sunday’s grand prix schedule.
Rueda has since been reported as having suffered a suspected fracture and some bruising, but is not in a serious condition.
Dettwiler’s condition remains unknown.
Leading MotoGP riders critical of handling of “scary” Moto3 incident
The Moto3 race was eventually started and run over 10 laps, with Japan’s Taio Furusato winning for Honda Team Asia.
However, Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia does not agree that running the Moto3 race was the correct decision after such a serious incident.
“First of all, my thoughts go to Rueda and Dettwiler, who are definitely not doing well,” he told Sky Italy.
“Official news has come out about Rueda and he's fine, apart from a wrist and a few bruises, but everything is fine.
“There's no official news about Dettwiler, we just hope he's doing as well as possible. I have to say it was a big scare.
“Let's just say that starting the day like this isn't the best way.
“Especially thinking that some Moto3 kids have to start a 10-lap sprint race, after seeing an accident like that, isn't the best situation in my opinion. Let's hope everything is fine.”
Bagnaia was previously critical of a similar situation in 2021, when qualifying action continued at the Italian Grand Prix in the wake of the fatal incident for Jason Dupasquier.
Another rider unhappy with the situation was Marco Bezzecchi, who felt the lack of information provided to MotoGP riders before the start of their 20-lap race was not good enough.
“It was really hard for me to concentrate,” he said.
“It’s very hard to get on the bike after what happened in Moto3. It’s not fair that we get on the bike without any information about what happened.
“We saw helicopters take off with two riders. We deserved some information.”
Yamaha's Alex Rins similarly questioned the decision to race, writing on Twitter: "I don’t know if we did the right call today. Sending Jose Antonio, Noah and their families all my strength."
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