Sam Matthews Fatal Crash @ Magny-Cours 2012
- 7 months ago
Britain's superbike rider Sam Matthews died from an infection contracted in the hospital, three weeks after being injured in a racing accident at Magny-Cours, France.
Sam Matthews crashed on Sunday, 01 July 2012, during the first heat of the Coupe de France European Bikes at Nevers Magny-Cours. He had qualified his Aprilia RSV4 #17 in sixth position in the grid. On race day the course was treacherous because of the rains preceding the start, and a number of accidents occurred just on the opening lap. François Noel on a Ducati crashed hard at the 180° turn and a few seconds later the poleman Brice Nunnari who was in the lead, lost control of his Ducati on the approach to the Imola bend, due to a pool of water on the track accumulating from the intermittent rain storms. He fell down and just behind him, the wild-card rider Grégory Lefort on another Ducati and Sam Matthews on his Aprilia also crashed. Lefort hit Nunnari's bike, while Matthews fell down and got stuck between his machine and that of Nunnari.
The event was immediately red flagged as medical teams attended to the injured riders, and shortly later the organisers decided to cancel the race. Of the three men who were taken to the circuit's medical center, Sam Matthews was indicated to be in the worst condition, having sustained internal injuries, rupturing his kidney and spleen, multiple fractures and neck injuries. Nunnari suffered a pneumothorax and a fractured leg; Lefort, a broken arm.
Sam Matthews was transferred to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Monday, 23 July 2012. He left behind his wife, Elodie and his two sons, Mike and Lou. He lived in L'Étang-la-Ville, Yvelines department, France, at the time of his death.
A former BMX rider who finished third in the World BMX Championship at Saint-Ouen, France, in 1989, Sam Matthews in the following years moved to motorcycle racing, winning the 2008 Challenge Ducati Hypermotard. Sam Matthews became one of the top riders in the Coupe de France Top Twin Unlimited, which at the end of 2011 was renamed Coupe de France European Bikes. The series was reserved to European motorcycles with a cylinder capacity of at least 650 cm3, with a calendar modeled on that of the French Superbike Championship (FSBK). In the previous rounds of the 2012 series, held at Le Mans, Sam Matthews scored fifth and sixth places.
R.I.P Sam Matthews.
Sam Matthews crashed on Sunday, 01 July 2012, during the first heat of the Coupe de France European Bikes at Nevers Magny-Cours. He had qualified his Aprilia RSV4 #17 in sixth position in the grid. On race day the course was treacherous because of the rains preceding the start, and a number of accidents occurred just on the opening lap. François Noel on a Ducati crashed hard at the 180° turn and a few seconds later the poleman Brice Nunnari who was in the lead, lost control of his Ducati on the approach to the Imola bend, due to a pool of water on the track accumulating from the intermittent rain storms. He fell down and just behind him, the wild-card rider Grégory Lefort on another Ducati and Sam Matthews on his Aprilia also crashed. Lefort hit Nunnari's bike, while Matthews fell down and got stuck between his machine and that of Nunnari.
The event was immediately red flagged as medical teams attended to the injured riders, and shortly later the organisers decided to cancel the race. Of the three men who were taken to the circuit's medical center, Sam Matthews was indicated to be in the worst condition, having sustained internal injuries, rupturing his kidney and spleen, multiple fractures and neck injuries. Nunnari suffered a pneumothorax and a fractured leg; Lefort, a broken arm.
Sam Matthews was transferred to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Monday, 23 July 2012. He left behind his wife, Elodie and his two sons, Mike and Lou. He lived in L'Étang-la-Ville, Yvelines department, France, at the time of his death.
A former BMX rider who finished third in the World BMX Championship at Saint-Ouen, France, in 1989, Sam Matthews in the following years moved to motorcycle racing, winning the 2008 Challenge Ducati Hypermotard. Sam Matthews became one of the top riders in the Coupe de France Top Twin Unlimited, which at the end of 2011 was renamed Coupe de France European Bikes. The series was reserved to European motorcycles with a cylinder capacity of at least 650 cm3, with a calendar modeled on that of the French Superbike Championship (FSBK). In the previous rounds of the 2012 series, held at Le Mans, Sam Matthews scored fifth and sixth places.
R.I.P Sam Matthews.