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CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
A
n unexpected feeling
came in the aftermath of
the death of Moto3 rider
Jason Dupasquier at Mugello,
the obvious shock tempered
with a bizarre kind of relief.
Thankfully, only one victim.
So often already this year, it
could have been worse.
The dread has been grow-
ing over the past seasons, most
acutely in a Moto3 class which
seems to have become exponen-
tially closer, and at the same time,
ever more reckless year by year.
Gangs of 15 or more desper-
ate teenagers circulate on the
ragged edge—at the giddy limit,
and within touching distance.
TV commentators sometimes
call these tactical battles "high-
speed games of chess."
Not appropriate in spite of the
obvious tactics entailed. They
are more like skittles.
One down and it's pure
chance if he doesn't take several
more with him.
And it does happen, quite
often. At which point, the results
are down to pure blind luck. As
always, once a rider is bouncing
on solid ground at high speed—
and all the more so when there
are several of them—with a mass
of out-of-control motorcycles go-
ing with them.
Luck that ran out for the Swiss
teenager at Mugello.
Aged 19 and son of a bike-
racing father, Dupasquier was in
his second Moto3 season, and
making a good impression. He
earned his first points with 10th
in round one, and had scored
in every race so far, to lie 12th
overall on the Pruestel CarXpert
KTM.
He was in Q2 again, as at
every race this year bar one, and
placed 11th in the closing min-
utes of Q2 when he ran off line
to avoid another rider, touched
the paint on the outside of the
fast Arrabbiata Two corner.
He fell in such a way that he
was hit by at least one following
rider, sustaining severe head
and other injuries.
This is almost always how
fatalities occur. Of the past four
in GP racing—Shoya Tomizawa
(2010), Marco Simoncelli (2011),
Luis Salom (2016) and Dupas-
quier (2021)—three were be-
cause the fallen rider was struck
by following bikes. This is one
circumstance that all the safety
equipment cannot mitigate.
It is remarkable, however, to
measure just how much safer
World Championship racing is
NOT A GOOD
AFTERNOON
