Loris Baz Crash Data
The soft Michelin rear tire of Avintia Ducati rider Loris Baz suffered a major blowout at 180 mph during the morning session of the opening MotoGP 2016 season test, at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, on Tuesday February 2nd. Baz walked away from the crash with only minor bruising and was able to resume testing later the same day.
The Tech-Air Race airbag system housed within Baz’s Alpinestars leathers deployed when he was launched from the bike. The first impact with the track took place 60 milliseconds later. The highest energy impact was recorded at 29.9g’s on his left shoulder. From the moment that Loris impacted the track, the duration of the slide lasted for 6.6 seconds.
As a result of the incident, the Grand Prix Commission decided to implement a mandatory tire pressure sensors rule. “The system to do this will be proposed by the MSMA members in Phillip Island and this issue is something to resolve immediately,” said MotoGP chief Carmelo Ezpeleta.
The next pre-season test takes place at Phillip Island on February 17-19.
A former Motorcycle.com staffer who has gone on to greener pastures, Tom Roderick still can't get the motorcycle bug out of his system. And honestly, we still miss having him around. Tom is now a regular freelance writer and tester for Motorcycle.com when his schedule allows, and his experience, riding ability, writing talent, and quick wit are still a joy to have – even if we don't get to experience it as much as we used to.
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