#FrenchGP Le Mans: 44 years later, “Thank you! »

The 2017 French Grand Prix could have started very badly. Already on Saturday, Jack Miller had escaped the worst during an extremely spectacular fall at the Dunlop chicane. But fortunately, although the images went around the world, the Australian pilot escaped with minor injuries.

The Moto3 race was in turn the scene of a collective fall immediately after the start, always in the same place. This is unfortunately classic and extremely feared by pilots, as can be attested, for example, by the comments of Dani Pedrosa (see here) and Jack Miller (see here).

Here again, no major injuries despite extremely spectacular images broadcast in slow motion by Dorna: hitting the ground violently before being hit by a motorcycle, we can say that Lorenzo Dalla Porta (#48) got hot!

Some pilots managed to leave, starting with Jakub Kornfeil (Peugeot MC Saxoprint) which is probably the author of the oil leak in the following bend. This will cause a massacre like rarely seen, since almost half of the 31 pilots involved will go to the ground almost simultaneously.

Rarely seen, certainly, but unfortunately already seen. It was 44 years ago, almost to the day, give or take a day, on May 20, 1973, in Monza.

In similar circumstances, Jarno Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini, two stars of the Continental Circus, lost their lives in a collective fall involving no less than fifteen pilots. Due to the means of communication of the time, the tragedy remained without any real explanation, but it is probable that traces of oil deposited by the Benelli of Walter Villa during the previous 350 cc race was the origin, despite the official version of the tightening of Pasolini's bike.

Today, touch wood, the weekend at Le Mans did not have serious consequences. A part of luck, of course, but also the fruit of enormous work aimed at improving rider safety: not even to mention the suits with airbags compulsory next year and already very present even in Moto3 this year, not even to mention progress made by helmet manufacturers whose adjustment is now done down to the millimeter, without even mentioning the layout of circuits with increasingly large clearance zones and better and better layouts with airfences, let us also pay tribute to the hundreds of people who now work for safety during each Grand Prix : commissioners, firefighters, doctors, etc.

Thank you to everyone from the competition who allowed us to experience, last weekend, an exceptional French Grand Prix, without the party being spoiled... before it was yesterday, by a stupid car accident. bike !