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Horrific Death of Photographer at Motorcross Championships Should Be a Wake up Call for FIA After Naive Esteban Ocon Mistake

Published 05/17/2023, 3:50 AM EDT

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via Imago

A horrific scenario came to pass during a motocross event that would remind most F1 fans of the scenario with Esteban Ocon in Baku. On Sunday afternoon, during the race, a rider fell off his bike at the Foxhill track near Swindon. However, the machine stayed in motion without the man and smashed through the hay bales. The tumbling bike hit photographer Simon Mitchell, who lost his life around 3 PM local time.

A marshal in his 60s also sustained injuries from the incident. Overall, a dark day in the world of motocross. As per reports, both men were standing at the marshaling point and not near the spectators. This ill-fated accident occurred during the British Motocross Championships.

This incident reminded people of the Esteban Ocon incident. During the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan GP, came into the pits during the penultimate lap to make his mandatory pitstop. A routine scenario could’ve turned fatal as the Frenchman was greeted by a group of journalists waiting to welcome the race winner.

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via Imago

During the competition, an unforeseen instance tragically turned fatal. The incident was similar to what we would’ve witnessed during the race in Baku at the hands of an Alpine man. However, sadly for the British Motocross competition and the entities involved, this horrifying situation came to pass as reported by Express.

A marshal in his 60s also sustained injuries from the incident. Overall, a dark day in the world of motocross. It is also believed both men were standing at the marshaling point and not near the spectators.

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The official confirmed that they had canceled all racing activities for the rest of the day. This scenario came to pass with just one bike and a couple of people standing near the marshaling area. Imagine Ocon driving through a crowd in his F1 challenger. A scenario that was “crazy” according to the Frenchman.

Esteban Ocon discusses the Baku incident and how close he came to causing a major incident

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The Frenchman wasn’t ready to see a host of reporters at the edge of the pitlane before the race ended. The Frenchman had to slam his brakes to avoid the crowd and avoid a major incident. An upset Ocon even expressed this during the post-race presser.

via Reuters

“I’m coming in at 300km/h, then I saw the people around me and I really braked at the last moment. It’s crazy, if I had missed the braking point, today could have been a huge accident. It’s definitely something that needs to be discussed,” said Ocon.

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WATCH THIS STORY | How F1 Escaped A Huge Safety Disaster At The 2023 Azerbaijan GP In Baku

Even though Ocon did not cause an incident, the FIA really needs to get its ducks in order as the examples of carelessness pile on.

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Written by:

Mahim Suhalka

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One take at a time

Mahim Suhalka is a senior F1 Author at EssentiallySports. Having written over 1000 articles, Mahim specializes in core sports coverage. Having followed the sport for a long time, his articles contain excellent analysis of the sport and he dives deeper into the technicalities of this complex sport.
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Edited by:

Akash Pandhare