Data released by Alpinestars shows that Loris Baz hit the track with a force of 29.9g during his horrific crash on the second day of the pre-season MotoGP test in Malaysia.
Baz was thrown from the bike at 290km/h after a mechanical failure caused him to lose control on the main straight of the Sepang Circuit.
The official cause of the crash has not been announced, but speculation is that the rear tyre exploded.
The data was captured by the Alpinestars Tech-Air Race airbag system built into his race leathers.
The Tech-Air system detects and logs violent movements and impacts the rider experiences. It analyses the data instantly, and determines if the rider is likely to be experiencing a crash at the time.
If so, it activates an airbag inside the suit to help protect the rider. The airbag inflates in a similar way to those built into cars.
The data captured from Baz’s crash firstly shows a loss of control that continued for approximately 1.9 seconds, after which time he was launched from the bike.
The airbag deployed and the data then shows that Baz’s left shoulder hit the ground with a force of 29.9g.
That force is around three times that felt by a fighter pilot during manoeuvres.
Baz then slid along the track for 6.6 seconds, finally stopping 8.5 seconds after the initial loss of control.
He then stood up and ran from the circuit.
Loris’ only obvious injury was a bruised elbow despite the extreme speed and force associated with the crash.
The system clearly works and he was able to resume testing later that day.
Michelin withdrew the soft compound rear tyre from testing after the crash, and the use of tyre pressure sensors has been mandated for the forthcoming MotoGP season.