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The stage this Sunday (8) of the Superbike Brasil, in Interlagos, was marked by another fatal accident. Still in the first minutes of the race, ten laps from the end, Matheus Barbosa lost control of the bike at Junção and hit the wall violently. The 22-year-old was still on the track, but couldn’t resist.
The red flag went off around 1:30 pm (in Brasilia) and later, while the driver was promptly receiving assistance, the race ended interrupted, with Eric Granado in the lead. Barbosa, born in the city of Anápolis, Goiás, defended the PCM / PRT team with a Suzuki motorcycle in the Pro category, the main category of the championship, and had started in third place.
Due to the accident, there was no podium ceremony. Barbosa ranked fourth in the 2020 season of the Pro class of the Superbike Brazil. In addition, the Goiano was champion in 2019 in the SuperSport 600 and still had achievements in the Yamalube R3 Cup Pro, the Paulista Yamalube and the Kawasaki Ninja 300 Cup.
It was the first death of Superbike Brasil since, in the middle of last year, the championship announced new measures to increase safety in races after two riders lost their lives in a short time. Among the points on which the category focused were the adequate preparation of the pilots, as well as changes in the protection used on each of the tracks.
The measures were taken in response to the fatal accidents that occurred at Superbike Brasil. In 2019, two drivers died during the races of the category, one of them Maurício Paludete, the ‘Linguiça’, and the other is Danilo Berto, both in Interlagos. Since 2015, with that of Matheus Barbosa, there have been six deaths: five in Interlagos and one in Goiânia.
Check the official statement of the category:
With immense sadness, the SuperBike Brasil reports the death of the rider Matheus Barbosa in the SBK Pro category race valid for the 5th Stage of the 2020 Championship, held this Sunday (11/08) at the Interlagos-SP Racetrack.
The accident occurred at the junction curve, a section with escape zones and no history of serious accidents. Matheus was seen by the closest medical team in less than 60 seconds. Still, despite all his efforts, he sadly couldn’t resist his injuries. The causes of the accident are still unknown and are being investigated by the competent authorities.
Out of respect for our dear Matheus, and especially the family, all activities for the day were immediately closed, the remaining race was canceled, and the race in which the accident occurred was immediately interrupted by the red flag.
Matheus, born in Anápolis-GO, was a highly experienced pilot with titles in his career, including the Brazilian SuperSport Champion. He had all the necessary credentials as a pilot and complied with all the strict security protocols in force. Among the more than 350 pilots in the Matheus Championship, he had, among other psychological characteristics, the response rate and the fastest reflex attested by annual psychotechnical exams, similar to those performed in civil commercial aviation.
In accordance with the legislation, the Organization has communicated to the Police and all the measures related to the expertise and other measures are being taken.
The test was carried out within all the security conditions established by the competent authorities. At this time, the Organization’s priority is to dedicate full attention and support to Matheus’s family.
The following video is from the accident of Matheus Barbosa and contains strong scenes.
The multiple controversies of the SuperBike Brazil
In addition to the high number of fatal accidents in the category, SuperBike Brasil has also been involved in other controversies. In January, BIG PRIZE revealed that the championship used forged documents at the trial of a protest by Alex Barros’ team against the Honda used by Eric Granado last year.
In action, Barros’ team questioned the engine of the CBR 1000 RR Fireblade. The engine was later analyzed by SENAI, but despite the fact that the result pointed to divergences in the weight of the connecting rods, CBM (Brazilian Motorcycling Confederation) concluded that it was not an irregularity.
Then, Alex’s team went to the STJD, where documents allegedly prepared by SENAI and FIM were attached. However, none of the entities acknowledge the production of the documents.
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