Moto2, Salom's crash caused by a bump

The SAG team, having analysed the telemetry data, has issued a press release to explain the dynamics of the accident that cost Salom his life.

Here is the content of the release.

After receiving the telemetry data yesterday Sunday June 5th by the organization, the technical staff of the SAG Team immediately held a meeting to determinate the facts of the accident and to communicate with exactitude what happened in technical terms at the fatal turn 12 of the Circuit of Catalunya. In the comprehensive analysis done on the telemetry data, team  owner Edu Perales was assisted by team manager Jordi Rubio, the chief mechanic of Luis Salom Bernat Bassa, the chief mechanic of Jesko Raffin Michael Ferger, the Moto2 rider Jesko Raffin and the manager of Luis Salom Marco Rodrigo.

During the course of the FP2, Luis Salom faced his first laps and made his best lap (1’48.608) before making his first pit stop to change the rear tyre of the bike. After that, Salom went back out on track and during that same exit lap he suffered the accident. On that lap, Luis arrived at the turn 12 braking reference point 6 km/h slower than his fastest lap, according to the telemetry that was due to lower acceleration on exiting turn 11. Due to that reduced speed, Luis operated the brakes 9 metres later to maintain a proper corner speed at turn 12. At the entry to the corner there is an irregularity (bump) on the track surface that all riders are aware of. The delay in braking meant Luis remained on the brakes as he ran over that bump, as opposed to the previous laps where he had already released the brakes on that spot. All of that added to an even speed than his best lap of the FP2 produced a stress on the front tyre and a loss of grip over the bump. That loss in grip led to the crash, the tragic outcome of which we are all aware of.

This telemetry data provided by the organization is available to any qualified technician who would like to analyse it.