Impressively, Francesco Bagnaia escaped leg fractures despite being run over by Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) following a highside at the start of the MotoGP Catalan GP. And luck was not the only factor that protected the championship leader from serious consequences.
Michele Zasa, medical director of Clinica Mobile, explained to the site GPOne.com that there are three dimensions involved in the outcome: ‘A component that definitely needs to be mentioned is luck, because if a motorcycle runs over you, it depends on where it hits you. Fifty centimeters make a difference. That said, there are two other components related to the athletic aspect. There are people who train to reach these speeds and can have very fast reaction times, so those who follow, who do not want to hurt those in front of them, can try to avoid it when possible. Then, the riders play a sport where trauma is implicit from a young age, so they learn how to fall and when they fall they position themselves in a way that minimizes damage. Obviously, this applies when they have an escape route, not in a dynamic like Sunday’s. We cannot forget about the protections, which have improved a lot in the last ten to 20 years‘.
On the other hand, the doctor highlighted that the riders have good physical preparation: ‘Looking at the images, you can see that the motorcycle went up on his legs and the tibia and fibula were at risk. But they are athletes well prepared physically and have muscle toning and elasticity that certainly helps. Let’s say it was an element of several factors that intervened and then maybe even God saying it wasn’t the time‘.
