Last year, Thailand’s Buriram circuit joined the 2021 MotoGP schedule. Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic forced organizers to cancel the event, but the track returns to the Grand Prix calendar in 2022. While only time will tell whether the MotoGP paddock travels to Thailand this year, the Honda Thailand Talent Cup took to the course for a pre-season test in early February, 2022.
During the test, 17-year-old rider Thannaphet Kusuwan crashed on his Honda NSF 250. Sadly, the racer died as a result of injuries sustained during the incident. While Kusuwan’s death marks a tragic loss for the Thailand Talent Cup series, it’s one of many fatalities among young road racers worldwide.
In February, 2022, alone, the global racing community lost several talented young racers. On February 6, 2022, MotoAmerica Supersport and Superbike rider Jason Aguilar died due to injuries sustained during a mountain bike training session. Just one day later, on February 7, 2022, 2021 Northern Talent Cup Champion Jakub Gurecky was involved in a fatal crash on his Ohvale minibike at a karting track in Slovakia.
The death of Kusuwan, Gurecky, and Aguilar follows a troublesome year of racing, where three young riders in the Moto3, World Supersport 300, and European Talent Cup died following on-track incidents. In response to the series of deaths and resulting outcry, the FIM published new rules, which raised the age limits for young racers in world championships.
Unfortunately, those new restrictions don’t apply to the 17-year-old Kusuwan and 16-year-old Gurecky. Additionally, Kusuwan and Gurecky died during pre-season testing and training, which don’t typically include the overcrowded grids and racetracks that contributed to the death toll in 2021. FIM may have taken steps to further protect young riders in years to come, but the recent string of deaths should force organizers to determine whether more regulations are needed in 2022.
