MotoGP working on rider protection

Tomizawa suffered fatal injuries when he was hit by both Alex de Angelis and Scott Redding, who had no time to avoid the Japanese rider when he crashed and fell straight into their path.

Valentino Rossi described the crash as one which no safety facilities or rules could have prevented. Uncini acknowledged that this was presently the case, but said MotoGP was investigating whether further steps could be taken to protect riders better in violent impacts.

"We can say that what happened was nothing to do with the safety," said Uncini. "These kinds of injuries unfortunately could happen at any time.

"With the technology in our hands at this moment it's very difficult to solve this problem but we are trying to work on this and trying to have something that in the future will help us have less damage in this kind of incident.

"We are waiting on somebody who is working to solve this kind of problem with the impact. We know that somebody is starting research in this kind of area. At the moment, we are not ready yet. We think that with our experience and their experience, we'll work together to try and improve in this area in the future - in the very near future."

He explained that the research was investigating extra protection that could be worn by riders.

"[The focus is on] protection all around the rider, because in this kind of incident it's nothing to do with the safety around the circuit, only something to improve around the rider," Uncini said.

"It's already done a big step with fantastic leathers and fantastic helmets, but the only way to solve this kind of problem is to have something better. But nobody has stopped [working], all the companies are making new steps and we are still waiting to solve this problem."

Uncini acknowledged that the key was creating adequate protective garments and systems that would not impede riders' movements when racing.

"In everything you also have the opposite side of the matter - we need to understand if the balance is better or worse," he said. "This is the problem and why we take time to test the new material."