Abstract
Background
Crashes are a small but regular feature of elite motorcycle racing. These crashes
provide a novel opportunity to benchmark and analyze motorcycle crash mechanics, crash
types, and associated injuries at high speeds in a cohort of riders who are well protected
and in a controlled environment.
Purpose
The purpose was to benchmark the prevalence of injuries, categorize crash subtypes,
and determine associated injury patterns.
Methods
This was an institutional review board–approved, prospective observational cohort
study of MotoGP riders for 1 racing season in 3 venues. Accident type was determined
by race-marshal report and visual analysis of race footage for each crash. Accident
types were defined as lowside (falling toward the inside of the turn), highside (falling
over and toward the outside of the turn), and topside (going over the handlebars of
the motorcycle). Specific injuries and hospital admission data were collected using
a standardized data collection form. Basic descriptive statistics were performed on
all categorical variables. We used the exact binomial test examine the association
between accident type and retirement from race, transport to medical building, transport
to hospital, and injuries sustained.
Results
Crash prevalence was 9.7 per hundred rider hours. There were 78 crashes: 58 lowsides,
13 highsides, 2 topsides, and 5 indeterminate. In the lowside group (n = 58), 19 (95%
confidence interval [CI], 0.21-0.46) riders retired, 0 required emergent transportation
to the track facility or to the hospital, and 1 (95% CI, <0.1-0.9) significant injury
was noted. In the highside group (n = 13), 10 (95% CI, 0.46-0.95) retired, 9 (95%
CI, 0.39-0.91) were transported to the track medical facility, and 3 (95% CI, 0.05-0.54)
were admitted to the hospital. In the highside group, there were 7 (95% CI, 0.25-0.81)
significant injuries. In the topside group, both riders were retired with 1 hospital
admission. Lowside crashes had a lower rate of retirement from race, emergent transport,
and significant injuries compared with highside crashes.
Conclusions
Lowside crashes are lower risk than highside crashes. Most highside crashes are caused
by oversteering to prevent an impending lowside crash. Strategies to reduce oversteering
to prevent a lowside crash may reduce highside crashes, enhance the safety for riders
in MotoGP racing, and be applicable to recreational motorcycle riding.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: July 06, 2016
Accepted:
July 5,
2016
Received in revised form:
July 4,
2016
Received:
February 6,
2016
Footnotes
☆This study should be attributed to the Emergency Medicine, Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd, Suite 1.114, Austin, TX 78723.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
