Styria GP Red Flagged After Fiery Pedrosa And Savadori Crash

Not a great outcome for KTM's wildcard.

By: Earl Davidson

Aug 8, 2021 at 5:00pm ET

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On the third lap of the race, Dani Pedrosa lost the front of his KTM RC16 racebike at turn three. Running in twelfth place, he went down along with Aprilia rider, Lorenzo Savadori.

Savadori could do nothing to avoid the incident, and subsequently struck the KTM resulting in a fire and red flags all over. The incident was not caught on camera, but the aftermath of the wreckage was broadcasted and all racers were called back to the pits in the interest of safety.

The impact was able to detach and break several fuel lines resulting in a spillage on track and fire that engulfed the track. Both the KTM and the Aprilia race bikes were destroyed following the incident. The ignited fuel resulted in a prompt response from the cleanup crews.

KTM put Pedrosa back on the saddle for MotoGP as a wildcard. Pedrosa made his wildcard debut in Misano, then was called upon once again for the Styrian GP. After taking a break from racing in 2018, Pedrosa served as KTM Red Bull's test rider until Team Orange pulled the wildcard out of its hat.

Both riders managed to escape the incident. Pedrosa got up quickly after his accident, and Savadori was spotted getting away from the wreckage, however, he had to be carried away on a stretcher.

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The Aprilia racer, Lorenzo Savadori, was then able to sit up by the side of the track and interact with the medical staff present during the scene. He was conscious following the accident. Following the first response, he was then taken to a medical center for further checks and treatment, while Pedrosa was then allowed to restart the race on a spare bike.

Another racer, Hafizh Syaharin, was also involved in the accident. He was launched from his Aspar bike, but thankfully, only sustained minor injuries.