– The Moto2 season opener in Buriram (Thailand) was overshadowed by accidents and two interruptions. The first red flag occurred in the fourth lap. Senna Agius suddenly slowed down somewhat in Turn 10. David Alonso, who was directly behind him, could not react to it and hit Agius’ rear wheel.
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The Colombian crashed immediately. Directly behind Alonso was Filip Salac, who also could not react in this chain reaction. Salac collided with Alonso, who was lying on the ground and was then thrown into the side of Agius’ motorcycle. Salac also crashed.
In the first moments, Alonso remained motionless next to the track. Rescue workers rushed to help. There was quickly an all-clear that he was conscious. In order to safely transport the Aspar rider, the race was stopped.
Alonso was taken to the Medical Center for further treatment. Aspar team boss Jorge Martinez inquired about his rider and was quickly able to give the all-clear: “He is conscious, but he has severe pain in his leg.”
Finally, X-rays ruled out any broken bones. “I’m fine. Fortunately, I haven’t broken anything,” Alonso himself confirmed afterwards. The 19-year-old also says that the accident was a very delicate situation for him.
“I was very scared because it was a very violent crash. I felt the impact, and when I was lying in the gravel, I couldn’t move. I felt like I had no control at all,” he describes the first anxious moments.
“I’m pretty battered all over, especially on my left foot, right leg and right shoulder, but I’m fine.” Alonso then also showed a photo on his Instagram profile and reached out to his fans.
“Thank God I can upload this photo without injuries and with a smile,” he writes. “Thank you to everyone who was worried. I was really scared, but life has smiled on us again.”
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During the interruption, the reason why Agius’ motorcycle had suddenly slowed down also became clear. The IntactGP team identified an electronics problem. However, this was quickly resolved. Agius and Salac took part in the restart.
Luca Lunetta has less luck
However, the race did not last long again, because an accident occurred in Turn 3 on the first lap. Sergio Garcia crashed at the apex and got right in the way of Luca Lunetta, who was also knocked to the ground.
At first, both stood up, but then lay back down on the ground of the run-off area. The emergency services rushed to the scene, and the race control had to stop the Moto2 race for the second time. Both were brought to safety on stretchers.
Lunetta was injured in this accident. The Italian writes on Instagram: “Unfortunately, another rider crashed right in front of me and it was impossible to avoid his motorcycle. I have to have surgery because of an injury to my right leg.”
Garcia, whose crash triggered the accident and the second interruption, got off more lightly: “I got away well at the restart, but then I crashed and that was the end of this Sunday early on.”
Regarding his physical condition, the Spaniard says: “Fortunately, nothing is broken, just a cut on the index finger of my left hand, which I now have to have treated so that there is no risk of infection.”
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The Moto2 race was finally started for a third time for a remaining distance of seven laps. Manuel Gonzalez prevailed in the duel against Izan Guevara. This meant IntactGP won both races in the junior classes. David Almansa was ahead in the Moto3 photo finish.
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