This afternoon, a few moments after the last Moto2 free practice session, Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna, and Franco Uncini, head of Safety for the FIM, held a press conference to discuss the tragic disappearance of Luis Salom , Friday afternoon in Barcelona.
To Carmelo Ezpeleta, all the medical staff at the circuit, at Dorna and at the Barcelona hospital did their utmost to try to save the Majorcan's life, “All the mechanisms put in place to assist the pilots worked very well,” informs Ezpeleta. “Help arrived very quickly and the staff at the Catalunya circuit did a very good job. Our doctors arrived immediately and the details of the actions carried out are available in the press release that we sent out yesterday. »
After this tragic accident, the Safety Commission from the FIM and composed of representatives of Dorna, the Race Direction and drivers, met at the scene of the tragedy to try to find explanations and solutions. “Like every Friday, the Security Commission met. It is important to remember that the Commission comes from the FIM whose representative is Franco Uncini. We, Dorna, are part of it as a promoter. »
“Ten drivers (editor's note: Marc Marquez, Andrea Iannone, Pol Espargaro, Jack Miller, Bradley Smith, Alvaro Bautista, Aleix Espargaro, Andrea Dovizioso, Tito Rabat and Cal Crutchlow) joined the Commission to try to understand what happened. Today, we have no explanation: the fall took place outside the trajectory. Something happened, he didn't take the line to take the turn. Likewise, at the time of the fall, he wasn't pushing for a fast lap. We still have to try to figure it out with other things like data acquisition, but that won't bring back Luis who is no longer with us today. »
“We decided that we had to continue the Grand Prix. We then spoke to Luis Salom's team. Edu Perales, owner of the team, assured that he would follow the Commission, whatever the decision. On another circuit where the route cannot be modified, the decision would have been more delicate. Two possibilities were offered to us: study the reasons and solutions for this accident or modify the route. The pilots decided it needed to be modified. On the other hand, the question of whether these changes will be permanent will be discussed in Assen. »
Two years ago, the modified route had already been tried for a few hours by the MotoGP riders. The modified version was that of the F1 version “The changes made last night are different, we worked a lot last night,” adds Ezpeleta. “At the entrance to the second chicane, we decided to make the track narrower so that the braking point is less close to the wall. We widened the clearances, laid gravel and added Airfence. We would like to thank the Circuit de Catalunya for the efforts made. It is important to remember the role of the Safety Commission: if a problem arises, we need to find a solution immediately. No driver has expressed the possibility of canceling the Grand Prix and, for this reason, we have decided to continue. »
For its part, Franco Uncini specifies the reasons for not modifying the route, “During the test on the modified route, it was difficult to understand,” He explains. “Especially with a heavy machine like a MotoGP. We have decided not to retain these modifications. »
The Italian also recalls that there have never been any requests from the drivers to modify turn 12. As for why there is no gravel trap at this turn while this one does not 'is not used by the F1 version, Uncini states, “Sometimes it is necessary to have asphalt to continue braking in case of error. At this speed, with gravel, it is difficult not to fall. The protections placed there worked perfectly: the impact of the motorcycle and the rider was very well absorbed. In Luis' case, he hit the motorcycle that was in his path rather than the Airfence. »
Regarding the next developments regarding security, Uncini responds, “For the moment, we have a good level of safety, but we are not dreaming and we continue to work on many areas such as asphalt, curbs, Airfences or protections. »
Photo credit : MotoGP.com
