MotoGP: Quartararo and Dovizioso tell you, bikers, invest in an airbag!

The last British Grand Prix could have gone very wrong from its first corner. A place on the Silverstone track which saw Fabio Quartararo fall violently, then leaving his Yamaha in distress in the middle of the track. She met Andrea Dovizioso's Ducati to better serve as a springboard. The jump was impressive, the landing was rough and the two pilots got up, although crumpled, but above all unscathed. A miracle ? There is certainly success, but there was also the airbag…

This is a major development for pilot safety and dates from 2018. A year which made the airbag device mandatory in all suits. Many MotoGP stars, including the leader of the World Championship, Marc Márquez, and the winner of Silverstone, alex rins, are provided by Alpinestars. The unlucky people of Silverstone fabio quartararo and the vice-world champion Andrea Dovizioso, are among these pilots who use the Italian manufacturer's “Tech-Air” airbag. Valentino Rossi et Pol Espargaro, for their part, trust the pioneer of inflatable bags, Dainese.

Supplier, Alpinestars, released data showing how the airbag system reacted during the pilot's frightening antics Petronas Yamaha and the official Ducati at the start of the British Grand Prix. Results which suggest that the two men thus avoided more serious injuries. It will be recalled that, despite this accident, the two riders returned to their MotoGP bikes four days later for the Misano tests.

Alpinestars published data showing that the 20-year-old Frenchman's airbag was inflated 20 thousandths of a second before first contact with the asphalt. The 33-year-old Italian had fully activated the system 145 thousandths of a second before impact. It was also not triggered at the moment of the collision with the Yamaha, but only when “Dovi” was catapulted into the air. The fall of Quarterly took 4,7 seconds, that of Dovizisoso, 4,8 seconds.

« This is incredible data from my tech-air system » commented the Ducati star on his Facebook page who thanked his supplier. For everyday use, in everyday traffic, the airbag must also be considered a very useful investment...