When the starting lights went out at the 2022 Catalunya Grand Prix, Idemitsu Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami got off to a sensational start. From his 12th-place grid position, Nakagami made up seven places on the run to the first corner. Unfortunately, the five-year MotoGP veteran carried the brakes too deep into the turn, folding his front wheel and sending him head-first into the rear wheel of Francesco Bagnaia’s Factory Ducati.
Nakagami’s helmet visor immediately broke away as the rider ricocheted off the Desmosedici GP 22, but the downed rider and motorcycle caused even more collateral damage. With Suzuki rider Alex Rins directly in the path of Nakagami’s sliding Honda, he was quickly collected in the crash. Bagnaia met the same fate as the following riders, with all three ending up in the turn one gravel trap on the very first lap.
