Andrea Antonelli Fatal Crash at Moscow Raceway
Tragedy struck during Sunday’s World Supersport race at Moscow Raceway in Russia when Team Goeleven Kawasaki’s Andrea Antonelli died following a crash.
During a race held under extremely wet conditions, Antonelli wrecked on the longest straight of the circuit between turns 14 and 15. The other rider involved in the crash was Honda’s Lorenzo Zanetti.
After hitting the ground, the 25-year-old Antonelli was struck by Zanetti, and suffered a cranium-base fracture. The race was immediately red flagged.
Antonelli, of Castiglione del Lago in Italy, was taken by ambulance to the on-track medical center, where staff attempted to resuscitate him. One doctor present was Dr. Massimo Corbascio, who says there was nothing that the staff was able to do to revive him.
Speaking to Italian’s sport newspaper, the Gazzetta dell Sport, “(Yamaha rider Massimo) Roccoli was hit by Andrea, who had already fallen. Then Zanetti was going 250km per hour and was not able to avoid him.
“He has gone to keep Marco Simoncelli company. We tried to revive Andrea immediately, but there was absolutely nothing we could do.”
Antonelli passed from the injuries at 2:10 p.m. The World Supersport race and the second World Superbike race were canceled.
Antonelli was the second Italian motorcycle racer to die since Marco Simoncelli passed following a crash at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2011.
The staff at Ultimate MotorCycling offers their deepest condolences to Antonelli’s family and everyone effected by the tragedy.
