Valentino Rossi leaves Austrian GP unscathed after miraculously escaping life-ending crash

Moto GP legend Valentino Rossi has faced numerous close-call situations in his career. But the 41-year-old Italian racer admitted that Sunday's near-miss during the crash at Austrian GP was the scariest moment of his career. Rossi narrowly avoided being hit by an unmanned motorbike after a crash between Franco Morbidelli and Johan Zarco saw both their bikes turn unguided missiles.

Austrian GP crash video

The Moto GP crash occurred a few places behind Valentino Rossi, who was contesting with Yamaha teammate Maverick Vinales. Franco Morbidelli and Johan Zarco attempted to head flat out down the straight, but their bikes got tangled in the breaking area on the second corner at almost 300km/h. This resulted in the pair being thrown out of their bikes, while both machines flew towards Rossi and Vinales. Miraculously, Rossi and Vinales both avoided a collision while navigating a corner. 

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Johan Zarco's Ducati flew across the track ahead of Vinales before smashing an air fence. Meanwhile, Morbidelli's bike missed Rossi by just inches as it flew between the pair before being completely destroyed after the crash. Zarco and Morbidelli left the race track without sustaining any major injury. Franco Morbidelli reportedly had himself checked in a nearby hospital after the crash.

Sunday's Austrian GP was temporarily halted after the officials were forced to raise the red flag after the crash. The race resumed after the debris from the crash was cleared off the track. Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso emerged as the champion in Austria as he fended off a challenge from Suzuki's Joan Mir and Ducati's Jack Miller. Both the challengers came within 2 seconds of the time registered by Dovizioso. 

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After the race concluded, a visibly shaken Valentino Rossi addressed the horrifying crash. "It was so scary. It was terrifying," Rossi said after securing fifth-place finish after the restart. "We have to pray to somebody, everybody has to pray to who he decides. But, f**k. I feel bad. I was scared, very much. Because today was very dangerous."

Valentino Rossi admitted it was extremely difficult to head back to the track after the accident. "I don't have a choice. Because I don't want to say 'ciao' to everybody and go home. So I have to restart," he added. "You try to not think about it, but it's really difficult, and even now it's not easy. I spoke to my girlfriend already, she is destroyed! But I haven't spoken to my mother and Graziano. Now I will call them for sure. Especially Graziano."

Defending world champion Marc Marquez, who is currently recovering from an arm injury suffered in the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez last month, reached to the incident, posting three praying emojis to Twitter:

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(Image Credits: Moto GP Official Website, Twitter Handle)