On Saturday, August 6, 2022, English motorcycle racer (of Italian descent) Gino Rea crashed during the second free practice session of the 2022 Suzuka 8 Hours. The incident occurred at the Suzuka Circuit's Casio Triangle, a chicane complex leading onto the home straight. On-site medical personnel administered trackside care to the FCC TSR Honda France rider, but his injuries soon warranted an airlift transport to a local hospital.
Sustaining serious head injuries in the crash, Rea remained in critical condition and in a medically-induced coma for days. In addition to the injury’s severity, the media couldn’t obtain medical updates on Rea’s condition. Following a post launched by Rea’s family on his Instagram page, we now know why the hospital officials remained reticent during that period.
“We couldn’t make a post earlier due to the Japanese culture, as they do not release any news to media without the direct contact with the family first,” the release statement reads. “We arrived in Japan on August 8 and 8pm with many thanks to the EWC, FIM, Suzuka Circuit, British Consulate, and TSR Racing Team for all the help in arranging emergency visas for us.”
When the family arrived, doctors kept Rea in a medically-induced coma in order to “reduce swelling on his brain, and to control his temperature”. However, the Rea family updated the rider’s fans via his Instagram page with a new post on Thursday, August 11, 2022.
“We would like to send a quick update in regards to Gino’s current condition,” reads the Instagram caption. “The results of the CT-Scan showed signs of recovery with reduced swelling. He is in a stable condition and recovering from the usual side effects from such a trauma. We are looking forward to a speedy recovery from him as we all know he is capable of it.”
While a long road to recovery awaits Rea, we hope he continues to heal at a steady pace. Luckily, with his family at his side, we can expect more regular updates as the Honda rider returns to health.
