Marco Bezzecchi
MotoGP returns after the summer break this weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix. The Red Bull Ring is an iconic circuit, but one that Valentino Rossi may not remember too fondly.
The Italian never finished on the podium at the Austrian Grand Prix, achieving a best finish of fourth in 2016 and 2019. Rossi was already a seven-time champion by this point, but could not add another to his illustrious career.
He finished runner-up in 2014, 2015 and 2016 as his rivalry intensified with Marc Marquez. By 2020, he was nearing the end of his career, struggling to fight at the front with Yamaha.
After retiring from the season opener, where Marquez suffered his near-career-ending crash, Rossi finished third in the following race; his last podium in MotoGP. He finished fifth in Czechia and Austria afterwards, but the latter event could have gone very differently.
MotoGP fans left horrified watching back Valentino Rossi’s ‘chilling’ crash at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix
On the first lap of the Austrian GP, Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco collided at high speed on the approach to turn three. Their bikes were sent across the gravel and towards the track.
While Zarco’s bike hit the barrier on the approach to the corner, Morbidelli’s continued at speed and flew into the path of oncoming traffic. MotoGP cameras captured the horrifying incident as the Italian’s bike came within inches of Rossi and Maverick Vinales.
TNT Sports posted the crash on X (formerly Twitter) five years on, ahead of the 2025 race. Fans took to the comments to express how they remembered one of the worst accidents in recent history.
“My heart literally stopped seeing that too!”, wrote one fan, while another said: “This was one of the scariest accidents in recent MotoGP history! Thank God no one was seriously injured.”
“Worst and luckiest crash I have ever seen,” echoed one user. “That was horrific Vinales and Rossi had the luck of a lifetime there They walked away from death by milliseconds,” said another.
Many fans were astounded at how Rossi and Vinales avoided serious injury: “How on earth neither got cleared up is just incredible. A very very lucky escape that could have been one of the darkest days ever in the sport,” wrote one fan.
Finally, another said: “The image of Maverick covering his head was probably the most instinctive yet futile reaction I’ve ever seen in my life. Rossi’s onboard camera showing his POV as Morbidelli’s bike flashed in front of him is so blood chilling scary, even 5 years later.”
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Valentino Rossi from stats to net worth
Marc Marquez will look to extend his lead in the championship at the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix
Rossi’s nemesis Marquez missed the 2020 Austrian GP, and the entire season for that matter, through injury. Five years later, the Ducati rider arrives at the Red Bull Ring with a 120-point lead in the standings.
The Spaniard has won eight Grand Prix so far, as well as 11 Sprint races, as he looks set to claim his seventh MotoGP title. Alex Marquez has admitted defeat in the title battle and is content with second, while Francesco Bagnaia is still struggling on the GP25.
Carlo Pernat thinks only a mistake will see Bagnaia beat Marquez in 2025. The Italian has had a month to reset as he hopes to end the season on a high.
But with his teammate’s current form, it is hard to look past Marquez achieving another clean sweep in his quest to return to the top after years of setbacks.
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