Rossi says Zarco made ‘serious error of judgement’ in ‘scary’ video

Valentino Rossi has called on his fellow riders to show more respect to one another when racing after sharing a video on social media that shows just how close he came to being caught up in last weekend’s serious Austrian MotoGP incident.

The Italian came to within inches of being struck by Franco Morbidelli’s wayward Yamaha as it spiralled out of control following a collision just behind involving Johann Zarco. Maverick Vinales also came very close to being hit by Zarco’s Ducati.

The incident has placed a spotlight on Zarco especially, who is being called out for moving directly into the path of Morbidelli and braking as they raced up towards the slow Turn 3 right-hander. When they touched and crashed, the two bikes took off towards Rossi and Vinales further up the road, almost taking them out.

Sharing a forward-facing camera angle video on Instagram – which has been viewed more than 2 million times – Rossi says it shows how close both he and Vinales came to a catastrophic incident.

Though he says Zarco’s action were in no way deliberate, he says it shows a ‘serious error of judgement’ ahead of a meeting with the FIM that could see a punishment handed down.

“The images from my camera are the ones that scare me the most, because from here you can understand the speed with which Franco's bike crossed the track right in front of me. It passed so hard that I didn't even see it, when I went back to the pits I was already shocked enough to have seen Zarco's bike literally fly over Maverick's head. 

“Miraculously nobody got hurt but I hope this incident makes everyone think, especially us riders. Zarco did not intentionally cause such a crash, but it is still a serious error of judgment, which a MotoGP rider cannot afford, especially in a braking at 310 km / h. 

“By moving quickly to the right and braking "in the face" of Franco , did not give him the place to slow down, so Morbidelli could not help but hit him at full speed. 

“I understand that in the race we play a lot and everyone gives their best to stay in front, but we must not forget that ours is a sport dangerous, and our safety and our opponents' safety is much more important than gaining a position.”

 

 

 

 

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Le immagini dalla mia telecamera sono quelle che mi fanno più paura,perché da qui si può capire la velocità con cui la moto di Franco ha attraversato la pista proprio davanti a me.è passata talmente forte che io non l’ho neanche vista,quando sono tornato ai box ero già abbastanza scosso per aver visto la moto di Zarco letteralmente volare sopra la testa di Maverick.miracolosamente non si è fatto male nessuno ma spero che questo incidente faccia riflettere tutti,soprattutto noi piloti.Zarco non ha intenzionalmente causato una carambola del genere,ma resta comunque un grave errore di valutazione,che un pilota di MotoGP non può permettersi,soprattutto in una staccata da 310 km/h.spostandosi velocemente sulla destra e frenando “in faccia” a Franco,non gli ha lasciato il posto per rallentare,quindi Morbidelli non ha potuto fare altro che centrarlo a tutta velocità.capisco che in gara ci si gioca tanto e tutti danno il massimo per stare davanti,ma non dobbiamo dimenticarci che il nostro è uno sport pericoloso,e l’incolumità nostra è dei nostri avversari è molto più importante che guadagnare una posizione.

A post shared by Valentino Rossi (@valeyellow46) on Aug 18, 2020 at 8:41am PDT