Last Saturday, during Moto3 qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, 19-year-old Jason Dupasquier had a terrible crash in Q2, sustaining injuries that ultimately proved fatal.
While the Swiss was treated on the track, the accident was repeated on television several times, before going on to broadcast live images of what was happening on the asphalt.
Jack Miller, who at that time was in the pits preparing for MotoGP FP4, was not amused at seeing those images, and that night he forced the televisions to be turned off in the Ducati hospitality due to the number of repetitions of the accident that they were showing.
“Last night [Saturday] we had a dinner, we had Sky TV in the hospitality and I forced everybody to turn off the TVs because I think I saw 10 fucking replays of the accident,” Miller said.
“I think this is unacceptable. You don’t know the situation, you don’t know what’s going on. We all hoped and prayed that this shit doesn’t happen. Even if they have that footage, they shouldn’t.”
“This is the world we live in, it’s all about the media and getting views. So it is what it is.”
Television coverage of accidents has already come under fire, particularly after the terrifying crash between Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli at last year’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Italian GP winner Fabio Quartararo said on Saturday that live footage attending Dupasquier was “not pleasant” to watch, but admitted it was not an easy situation for broadcasters.
“Actually last year, I think it was in Austria, we saw the accident many times and today we have seen it I think once or twice,” Quartararo said. “Then we’ve also seen the corners, the helicopter. It’s not a pretty scene to watch before you go to 350km/h minutes later.”
“I guess it’s not easy for us, but it’s not easy for broadcasters either. So, yes, you have to do a reset when you start and try to focus on your work.”
Brad Binder believes that the coverage of the accidents can also be positive because it “reassures” the pilot if he sees “any movement” of the rider involved.
“It’s not nice to watch, but at the same time it’s really cool to see when things are going well and you see some movement or something, it really puts you at ease,” said the KTM rider.
