ROSS OF BLOOD
Furious Valentino Rossi calls for Zarco punishment for 200mph MotoGP horror crash that left upset girlfriend ‘destroyed’
VALENTINO ROSSI has demanded MotoGP take "serious" action against Johann Zarco after the Frenchman was blamed for a nightmare 200mph crash.
Amazingly, no one was hurt after the Ducati star collided with Franco Morbidelli at Red Bull Ring on Sunday.
4
4
Both racers were sent tumbling off the track as their bikes flew through the air at terrifying speed, very nearly wiping out Rossi.
And the MotoGP veteran slammed the unnecessary incident after the race, admitting that his girlfriend, Francesca Sofia Novello, was emotionally "destroyed" by the near-miss.
He said: "It was so scary. It was terrifying.
"We have to pray to somebody, everybody has to pray to who he decides.
"But, f***. I feel bad. I was scared, very much. Because today was very dangerous.
"You try to not think about it, but it's really difficult, and even now it's not easy. I spoke to my girlfriend already, she is destroyed!
4
4
"But I haven't spoken to my mother and [brother] Graziano. Now I will call them for sure. Especially Graziano."
Morbidelli's 157kg bike was sent hurtling through the air after the Italian tangled with Zarco, ending up just inches away from Rossi's front wheel as he took a hairpin turn.
Maverick Vinales also narrowly escaped a horrific accident as Zarco's unguided vehicle flashed across the Austrian circuit at great pace.
Rossi was left with no doubt that French rider Zarco was to blame - calling for "something serious" to be handed out to the 30-year-old.
As an 18-year, six-time title winning veteran of the sport, the 41-year-old, who finished fifth in Spielberg, called for calmer heads on the track.
Rossi added: "Everybody is very aggressive in MotoGP, and also in the lower classes. I can understand it, but for me it's important that we don't exaggerate [the risks].
"You need to have respect for the other riders because we can't forget that this sport is very dangerous - especially in a track where you have long straights and you always go at 300 km/h.
"What I said is that also from the lower classes, you have a lot of riders who close the door in the face of the others when braking. In Italian we say, 'frenare in faccia' - to 'brake in the face'.
Most read in Sport
"Zarco was very wide, and he 'brakes in the face' of Franco, maybe to not let Franco overtake him back in braking.
"But he's too close, and when you are at 300 km/h you have a lot of slipstream, and Franco didn't have any chance to brake [and avoid contact].
"At the end, there is a lot of risk. We risk a lot, especially me and Maverick. This was a potential disaster."
Italian MotoGP star Valentino Rossi under fire after kicking female fan
Topics