Sandro Cortese Decides To Retire From WSBK After Major Accident

Twenty months after the Portimao crash, and after avoiding paralysis, the German rider’s thankfully walking away from WSBK.

By: Earl Davidson

Apr 9, 2022 at 7:25pm ET

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The German rider, Sandro Cortese took to social media to announce his official retirement from racing. At 32 years old, Cortese’s (thankfully) walking away from the sport after avoiding paraplegia.

The accident happened on August 8, 2020, in Portimao for the World Super Bike Championship. Thanks to the emergency response team at Faro, Cortese was able to avoid paraplegia which would have left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. After recovery, he went on Instagram to officially announce his retirement.

Sandro Cortese’s Instagram post translates as such:

"Dear friends,

Almost exactly 20 months have now passed since my serious accident on August 8, 2020, in the Superbike World Championship race at Portimao; I would like to inform you that I will officially end my racing career.

It was only thanks to first-class care in Portimao and the emergency operation in Faro that I escaped from paraplegia. I think about it every day and am infinitely grateful and happy to still be able to lead a normal life. But on the other hand, I'm a bit sad that I had to end my career so abruptly after this accident. Thanks to the unconditional support of my family, girlfriend, and friends, I was always fine during this difficult time. Since the fall, my body hasn't been as resilient as it used to be, and it took many months of rehab to be able to walk reasonably pain-free again.

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I look back on a career that I would never have dreamed of. For 16 years, I was allowed to live the dream of a racer and be part of the MotoGP™ scene as well as the Supersport and Superbike World Championship. My dream goes on, because of course I'm staying true to racing. I will be part of the Liqui Moly, Servus TV, and Yamaha families again this year with great enthusiasm.

In addition, there is a new task with my long-term sponsor, the Gutmann Group, which I am looking forward to. Of course, a big thank you goes to all of you, dear friends, fans, partners, sponsors, and supporters. You have always supported me and lived my dream with me."