As anyone who pays attention to racing can tell you, clashes between riders can (and do) happen. Sometimes, it’s what’s often referred to as “a racing incident,” where two or more riders crash because they’re both trying to be in the same place at the same time. Other times, it might be construed as intentional on a rider’s part—although of course, it’s rare that any rider would ever say “I meant to hit them.”
On September 11, 2022, at Race Two of the World Superbike round at Magny-Cours, Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista came together in a fairly ugly crash on Lap Two, at turn 13. As race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu later explained, turn 13 is one of the few places where it’s possible for other bikes to pass Bautista’s Ducati, because of the way its acceleration works.
