We all know that photographers love to get close to the action. But when is it too close for comfort?
Have a look at this video below of a photographer getting clipped by a rider.
The photo we have used here has particular relevance to Kiwi bike fans … it shows what happened to New Zealand’s Courtney Duncan at the German GP in 2016.
The Otago girl had won three of the first four races in the Women’s Motocross World Championships (WMX) that year, but she fell victim to a freak crash at the third round of seven in Germany.
She collided with a photographer who should not have been standing on the track. Seriously injured, she returned home for surgery and to recover.
“I came over that jump just like in the eight laps previously, with no problems at all, and this one time there was a photographer standing on the track. There was nothing I could do and a clipped my handlebars on her,” said Duncan.
Duncan was forced to miss the next two rounds – round four in France and round five in Italy, and, although she did come back to win the final two rounds, in Switzerland and The Netherlands, her campaign had been ruined and she had to settle for fifth overall that season.
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