The inaugural race of the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing world championship has been marred by a horror crash for Norwegian Mia Rusthen.
Rusthen was sitting in 12th when she crashed at the final corner of the Misano circuit in Italy midway through the series’ first ever race late Saturday (AEST).
Cameras caught the moment Rusthen slid through the gravel in a cloud of dust. The red flags were immediately shown, and the race was brought to a halt.
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No replays of the crash were shown.
She was taken by ambulance to the nearby Bufalini Trauma Centre, with the category announcing she’d suffered a “polytrauma” – basically several potentially life-threatening internal injuries.
In a translated Facebook post, Rusthen’s family said the 21-year-old was in an “artificial coma”.
“She has undergone surgery to relieve the pressure on her head and remove a bleed,” the post read.
“The doctor is very positive and happy with the outcome. The pressure in her brain is stable and her vital signs are stable.
“We appreciate all of the thoughts and love already sent Mia’s way.”
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The rest of the race was postponed until the end of the day.
According to Rusthen’s website, she grew up with dreams of becoming a ballerina before her dad took her to a race track when she was 13.
Rusthen’s wasn’t the only major crash of the weekend. The race was red-flagged again on the restart when South African Jessica Howden crashed on her own.
On the third restart, Lena Kemmer came from her bike and slid into the pit wall. She was able to walk away and the race ran the five laps to its conclusion.
Maria Herrera eventually took the category’s first ever race win, defeating Moto3 veteran and 2018 Supersport 300 world champion Ana Carrasco by 0.067s after a thrilling final lap battle.
In the second race on Sunday, Herrera made it a double by passing Sara Sanchez at the final corner of the final lap.
After crashing in Saturday’s first race, Australian Tayla Relph finished 12th on Sunday to secure her first world championship points.
The WorldWCR championship is a six-round series running in support of the World Superbikes. Riders will next be in action at the Donington circuit in the UK next month.