Nicky Hayden & Niccolo Canepa crash

Saturday qualifying session; Sachsenring, Germany

Aside from Nicky getting his best qualifying result yet, he got involved in a bizarre slash freakish accident when he high-sideded his Desmosedici GP9 on a wet circuit, before the fastest descending part in Sachsenring. Worse, he hit a passing Niccolo Canepa, who had no idea of what had happened until he saw the replays. Both Nicky and Niccolo are beat and bruised but will be able to race tomorrow.

Niccolo Canepa

“What a hit ! I didn’t understand what happened until I saw the replay while I was in the mobile clinic. When I was on the ground after the accident I saw and heard Hayden saying to me “Sorry, sorry, sorry”, but I didn’t understand why. He doesn’t have to worry because this sort of thing can happen and the most important thing is that both of us are ok and ready to race tomorrow. I suffered a hard contusion on my back, head and ankle, but nothing is broken. I felt a lot of heat in my lower back but everything seems back to normality now. I want to thank the mobile clinic doctors who have helped me to relax and will do everything possible to put me back in top form for tomorrow’s race.”

Nicky Hayden

“I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I hoped he’d seen me but I wasn’t sure. I know why I crashed. It was my own fault, rider error, but I was also thinking ‘hell, I hope he’s not going to come back down on the racing line because he was on a slow lap. Sometimes you wonder if people see you, so I was trying to get ahead of him. When I lost the rear and started going right, I just thought ‘I hope I don’t land in front of him.’ At about that time I felt him. He actually cushioned the fall for me. It’s a cruel world and I’m lucky I knocked him down or I could have got hurt worse. So I’m sorry but also grateful!”

Update

Check out the crash in YouTube, before MotoGP files for copyright complaints.

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