Shoya Tomizawa passes away, 2010 MotoGP / Moto2 race crash @ Misano, Italy

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Shoya Tomizawa Crash Video WARNING: This is a very disturbing video

Shoya Tomizawa passes away
Sunday, 05 September 2010
The Japanese rider tragically passed away today, Sunday 5th September, after being injured in a crash during the Moto2 race at Misano.

Shoya, on the track and beyond, we will always follow your line
On Sunday 5th September during the Moto2 race at the Misano World Circuit, rider Shoya Tomizawa aged 19 suffered a serious crash and subsequent cranial, thoracic and abdominal trauma.
Given the seriousness of his condition - especially for the thoracic and abdominal trauma - Tomizawa was immediately treated at the Misano World Circuit medical centre and put under artificial respiration.
The rider was taken by ambulance to the Riccione hospital accompanied by two doctors - helicopter was not used in order to allow for the proper respiratory support to be administered. Despite various attempts to resuscitate him Shoya sadly succumbed to his injuries at 14.20.
Everybody involved in MotoGP extends its deepest condolences to Shoya’s family and friends at this tragic loss.

Shoya Tomizawa passes away | The Official MotoGP Website

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MotoGP paddock united in Tomizawa grief
Sunday, 05 September 2010
There was an overwhelming sadness at Misano as riders and teams expressed their sorrow at the tragic death on Sunday of Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa.

The untimely passing away of Shoya Tomizawa on Sunday provoked an array of sad reactions from the MotoGP paddock, as the sport lost a talented rider and one of its most popular figures.
Nineteen year-old Tomizawa, the first rider ever to win a Moto2 race at the start of the season, was a highly charismatic, friendly and well-liked person and tributes to him were paid by those who had been fortunate to experience his fantastic persona.

Moto2 race winner at Misano on Sunday Toni Elías said: “All I feel is sadness right now and my victory today is irrelevant. I was talking and joking with Tomizawa only yesterday in the Clinica Mobile and to think that he is no longer with us is truly awful. Even today we were out there racing together when he was in front of me before this incredible tragedy. He has left an indelible mark on my life."

Elías Team Manager Fausto Gresini, who experienced the tragedy of losing a rider when Daijiro Kato passed away at Suzuka in 2003, stated: "Today is a very sad and very tough day, when racing doesn't feel like it should. I know just how hard it is to lose a rider in these circumstances and I know the pain that his family and all the guys on the team who worked with him are feeling right now. There is little more to say.”

MotoGP race winner Dani Pedrosa reflected: “There are no words to say how it feels after this victory - it feels like nothing. It’s so sad, terrible, and these things should never happen. As a person I can only say that he was a very funny boy, always happy and making jokes, and as a rider he earned respect from everybody in a very short time, he was fast and brave.”

Jorge Lorenzo said: "I don't have many words for the race on such a sad say. It's a huge pity because he was a good guy and a strong rider. I am so sad and I just want to say how sorry I am for his family and his friends. When this happens nothing else matters."

The Spaniard’s team-mate Valentino Rossi commented: "I'm so sorry for Shoya because he was a strong rider but above all he was very ‘sympatico.' He was very funny, always smiling and he always had nice things to say to everyone. He was also very young with a great career ahead of him so we are all very sad."

Ducati rider Casey Stoner said: “I am deeply saddened for Tomizawa, his family and everybody who worked with him. It is something truly terrible and it left me breathless, like a week ago (and the death of Peter Lenz). It was a pleasure to watch him ride and I was looking forward to see him have a great career."

The Australian’s team-mate Nicky Hayden added: “I am really sad, we have lost two riders in two weekends. My thoughts are with his family and his team but I think the whole paddock has been hit hard by this tragedy. At the end of the day we are all brothers here. We have lost a talented kid with a great personality. I loved his style, his determination and the smile he always wore.”

MotoGP paddock united in Tomizawa grief | The Official MotoGP Website


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Tomizawa’s accident explained by Race Direction

Sunday, 05 September 2010
Race Director Paul Butler, Claude Danis (FIM), Safety Officer Franco Uncini, Clinica Mobile Medical Officer Claudio Macchiagodena, and Javier Alonso (Dorna) held a press conference following the sad death of the Japanese rider.

Race direction press conference on Tomizawa’s accident

Race Director Paul Butler, the FIM’s Claude Danis, Safety Officer Franco Uncini, Doctor Claudio Macchiagodena of the Clinica Mobile, and Javier Alonso from Dorna were present at a press conference in which they each made statements following the tragic death of Shoya Tomizawa following a crash in the Moto2 race at Misano.

Dr. Claudio Macchiagodena:
“We want to speak about the accident today, a very bad accident involving three riders who crashed and who immediately had serious problems. One of the riders, Alex de Angelis, got up. The second rider (Scott Redding) had no problem. One was very serious, and as you know this was Shoya Tomizawa. Immediately the first idea I think is if it’s possible to stop the race because it’s dangerous, but the people with the stretcher immediately arrived and when you remove the rider from the track for my medical decision I do not ask Race Direction for the red flag because this does not help my job, because we delay the intervention for the ambulance. Behind the track protection we had one ambulance with the respirator inside and we started immediately all the intensive care for him. I didn’t ask for the red flag because I didn’t need it. After the rider came to the medical centre I had some people asking me why it took a lot of time. The intensive care started behind the protection of the track. Normally when you have a broken arm the ambulance is the same as a taxi, where you put the rider inside and send him quickly. Now it was very important to have the ventilation and two doctors. When he arrived at the medical centre his condition was critical, and we continued the intensive care. We had a lot of doctors but the situation was critical, we had a process for respiration. We checked an abdominal trauma with the scanner because it was a very serious situation not just for the cranial trauma, but for the chest and abdominal."

“He suffered a heart trauma and the best option was to transfer him to hospital in Riccione because it’s very close and because we have two doctors in the ambulance who continued the respiration process, and to go by helicopter was very far and not possible for this process. When he arrived in hospital we continued for ten minutes or more... but in the end nothing could be changed for Tomizawa.”

Paul Butler:
“I think the first thing we have to say is that our sympathies go out to the family and friends of Tomizawa and the team, clearly. Doctor Macchiagodena has explained the situation very clearly. My job is to decide whether to red flag or not based on the advice I receive. The medical intervention was very quick and very efficient because the point of the accident there were many medical services there: several ambulances and a lot of doctors. So the evaluation of the situation was swift. The next stage is to do with the safety of the other riders on the track and the intervention of the marshals was very swift so there was no risk to the other riders. The crashed motorcycles and the debris was removed very quickly and therefore there was no reason to red flag.”

Claude Danis:
“I would just like to confirm what Paul said. We thought after consultation together that it was not necessary to stop the race because it seemed everything would be okay when the riders come round for the next lap, and that was the case. Of course today is a very sad day for all of us and on behalf of the FIM I would like to express my very deep condolences to the family of Tomizawa, to the team and to his friends. Things like that happen sometimes, hopefully not very often, and that is racing.”

Franco Uncini:
“We are very close to the family, to the friends, the team and everybody close to him. We can say that what happened was nothing to do with the safety. These kinds of injuries unfortunately could happen at any time. With the technology we have at this moment it’s very difficult to solve this problem but we are trying to work on this and try and have something that in the future will help us have less damage in this kind of incident.”

Javier Alonso:
“Today we lost an excellent person, of course a good rider but first of all an excellent person and we are very sorry for that. We are very sorry for the family of course and for the team, and just a small clarification because it looks like the news that unfortunately Tomizawa had passed away came out before we officially announced it. That was because we wanted to inform the family first. So the first thing we did when we received the news was to inform the family.”

Tomizawa?s accident explained by Race Direction | The Official MotoGP Website


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