It is the elephant in the room of motorcycle racing. Even though it says on the back of our passes, in capital letters, “MOTORSPORTS CAN BE DANGEROUS”. But then something like the collision that happened on the sighting lap for the Moto3 class at Sepang, when Jose Antonio Rueda ran into the back of Noah Dettwiler. The very high speed differential left Rueda badly battered and bruised, and Dettwiler fighting for his life.
We have had an official update on Rueda’s condition, who is in hospital with a broken hand fracture, concussion, and very badly battered and bruised. As of this writing (Sunday night European time), Dettwiler’s CIP Green Power team have put out a statement saying only that the Swiss rider is in hospital in Kuala Lumpur, and will need multiple surgeries. According to Swiss media, his parents are flying to Malaysia. The team statement said “He is in good hands, and we kindly ask you to respect his privacy. We will not be sharing further details at this time.”
All we know is that Rueda is injured but will recover, and Dettwiler is receiving the best treatment he can get. And to be frank, as someone who has no more than a passing acquaintance with either rider, it is all I need to know. As the team says, Dettwiler deserves privacy. All I can do is hope that he makes a full and speedy recovery, and send his team and family my best wishes.
Racing is still dangerous
