[VIDEO] Alpinestars Tech Air Race Suit Covers for Rookie Marc Marquez' Overconfidence

Marc Marquez broke yet another record when he lost control of his RC213V motorcycle and dismounted at close to 300km/h during practice runs at the Mugello Circuit last week. It was the fastest crash recorded in MotoGP history and Marcquez was lucky to have escaped with minor injuries.

The straight at the Mugello Circuit is one of the longest MotoGP riders experience so it provides the opportunity for the highest speeds. MotoGP motorcycles approach speeds of 340km/h before hard braking is needed to make the San Donato curve.

Sources state that Marquez is still not exactly sure what happened leading up to the crash.

"Just after the hill on the straight I grabbed for the brakes but I closed the front. I tried to save it but the bike was pulling me towards the wall so I jumped from the bike to avoid hitting it," commented Marquez.

Shortly after the crash, Alpinestars released the data collected from Marquez' Tech Air Race Suit which indicated that when Marquez lost control he was travelling at 337.9km/h (209.9 Mph). After the Tech Air suit detected a crash by accelerometers the airbags were activated and Marquez hit the ground 0.03 seconds after they were fully deployed. It all went down in 0.08 seconds. The Tech Air definitely saved him from a major injury and could have possibly ended his campaign for the title.

The Alpinestars Tech Air Race Suit

The Tech Air Race Suit is not the only of its kind but it is one of the most advanced . It monitors the rider's position and collects data 500 times a second from 5 sensors that are connected to a data logger in the rider's aerodynamic camel hump. Alpinestars collected years of data leading up to crashes to develop criteria that could be used to confirm the onset of a motorcycle accident and trigger airbag inflation.

To prevent the airbags from inflating if the rider falls down the stairs or bumps into something the suit must be turned on, the main zipper done up all the way up and the rider needs to be on a moving motorcycle.

According to the data returned from the sensors, forces in excess of 25 G were sustained on his shoulders at different times but Marquez was able to race two days later and only had bruises on his chin and shoulder. Had he been able to walk away from the accident and able to race the suit would have been ready to go in 60 seconds.

The Tech Air Suit returns to its original shape in 20-25 seconds and has two energy stores to ensure there is still power available to continue the race.

Crashes like this offer more data that Alpinstars uses to improve their electronics and crash detection. Not all MotoGP riders wear airbag equipped suits but Marquez leaping from his motorcycle at over 300kmh and being able to race again in 48 hours make their effectiveness hard to ignore.

There isn't a great video of Marquez' practice crash but the bike cam footage can be seen in the video below.

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