He Should Be Dead. This Insane MotoGP Crash Is a Great Reminder of How Far Motorcycle Gear Has Come

This weekend, I thought I watched Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi die. 

The Italian MotoGP racer, who had been leading the series for the title, was back on track following him striking a marshal and being kicked off the grid during the last round. And while fighting for position against Ducati's Marc Marquez to regain some much-needed points for his title aspirations, he low-sided his Aprilia in a high-speed, fourth-gear corner, sending him flying.

I watched in horror as Bezzecchi rag-dolled, tumbling end-over-end across the gravel trap at TT Circuit Assen, continued over a paved escape road, went back through a gravel trap, and ended with him hitting the barriers. This wasn't just a fast low-side where we've seen other riders just pop up and run toward the pits to get another bike and continue on. It was an impossibly fast low-side. The kind that you don't walk away from, let alone survive. 

Yet, just hours later, Bezzecchi had been cleared not only by the trackside paramedics, but also from the doctors at a nearby hospital. He wasn't just fine; he wasn't even injured. And that seemingly ridiculous miracle isn't by happenstance or even a miracle. It's a reminder of how far we've come in terms of motorcycle gear, its strength, resilience, and ability to soak up even the most mind-bendingly bad crashes. 

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Gear is one of those things that the motorcycling community has "thoughts" on. Whether it's the efficacy of helmet laws and "my freedoms!" or when yours truly wants to believe he's indestructible in my own backyard only to find out I absolutely am not. The reality is gear, especially the gear today, saves lives, saves your skin, and saves you from likely becoming a vegetable. 

Suited and booted in Dainese's latest race leathers and rocking an AGV helmet, Bezzecchi's gear did what it was designed to do: it took the brunt of the 140 mph crash. His airbag deployed, the leathers' armor and inserts absorbed impacts and protected against the sharpness of the gravel and pavement, and his helmet kept his brain confined from the violence. It's not a miracle; it's materials science, and the technology that's been imbued and embedded into modern motorcycling gear. 

Dainese, Alpinestars, REV'IT!, and every other gear manufacturer have come leaps and bounds in the last twenty years. And light years beyond what was available back when our parents first started riding. Helmet technology alone, whether it's MIPS or even just the chemical makeup of the EPS foam, is that much better. And airbags now surround the rider's chest and neck and legs. It's properly amazing what the current era of motorcycle gear offers in terms of safety. 

And, again, Bezzecchi is fine. 

After seeing the trackside doctors and then going to the hospital to get some CT scans and further X-rays, the doctors in the Netherlands sent Bez home. He later posted to his social media, saying, "That was a rough one yesterday... time to nurse the aches and pains. No giving up! Thanks everyone for the support