It was only days ago when we published a small piece on the crash statistics in the Grand Prix championship for the first half season. Yamaha's riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo reigned the charts, not having crashed even once in the first nine races, but now only The Doctor can brag on this.
Jorge Lorenzo crashed in the warm-up session ahead of the race at Indianapolis, in a left-hand turn, where he lost grip at the rear wheel and wobbled violently. The Mallorcan was extremely lucky, as he managed to hold on to the bike despite the brutal shaking.
The whole thing ended up with a low-side crash, but for a moment everything could turn into major disaster for Lorenzo and team Movistar Yamaha.
A high-speed high-side crash could have had severe consequences, and Lorenzo has had a broken collarbone last year at Assen
Watching the crash closely you can see how violently the bike bucks Lorenzo twice. It's hard to tell whether it was sheer luck or his massive racing experience, backed with out-of-this-world cool thinking and fast reactions that saved him, but Lorenzo managed to stay in the saddle, instead of high-siding in front of the motorcycle.
The last time when he lands on the seat makes it count, as the bike falls on the left, inside the turn, into a low-side. Seeing him go down on the left side instantaneously brought to mind his crash at Assen in 2013, a fall you can watch again after the jump.
Back then, Lorenzo crashed more or less the same way, losing grip, wobbling violently and being thrown off his bike. However, unlike during his Indy crash, he was traveling at around 200 km/h (124 mph) on the wet Dutch track. The hard impact resulted in a broken left collar bone, one of the common injuries of motorcycle riders.
Funny thing, Marc Marquez crashed in the same session, some 10 minutes after Lorenzo took his first fall of the year. Both were okay and have not sustained any injuries, making it back to the track on their spare bikes. The two riders battled for the entire race, but MM93 managed to get the better of JL99 three laps before crossing the finish line.
PS: Listen well when Lorenzo's bike crashes and watch his head hitting the asphalt... this should give a hint to those who oppose helmet laws.
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