Tomizawa's death overshadows race

The 19-year-old Moto2 frontrunner died in hospital at 14.20 local time, having suffered severe injuries when he fell amid the lead pack and was struck by two other bikes.

Tomizawa had been one of the stars of the inaugural Moto2 season. Singled out by AUTOSPORT's Toby Moody as a man to watch for the future, he had joined the series as a relative unknown but took a brilliant victory in the category's first ever race and remained with the leaders all season.

The MotoGP winners were informed of the fatality just after finishing their race, which was won by Dani Pedrosa ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.

Honda rider Pedrosa said he could take no satisfaction from his fourth win of the year in the circumstances - especially as Tomizawa's death came just one week after 13-year-old Peter Lenz was killed in one of the support races at the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

"I think everybody today is sad," Pedrosa said. "We feel a big hole here [in our hearts] and we are all empty.

"It's two riders in one week, so it's not a good feeling. I hope we don't have any more [fatalities] for the rest of our lives and we can still enjoy this sport and keep on going."

Lorenzo maintained his championship lead and his 100 per cent podium record with second place, but agreed that the loss of Tomizawa made the race irrelevant.

"Today is a very sad day because we lost a very strong rider, a very good person and I can't say anything more," said the Yamaha rider.

His team-mate Rossi added: "When these things happen, all the rest becomes nothing. Shoya was a really funny guy and a strong rider. I think everybody is very, very sorry."