Terrifying Moment Motorcyle Almost Hits Cameraman During Race

During the MotoGP race this weekend in Hungary, a cameraman had a scary moment when a crashing motorcycle came flipping toward him and very nearly hit him as he was standing atop a broadcast podium.

The cameraman, later identified as Joao, got extremely lucky as the out-of-control bike actually hit his camera as it somersaulted through the gravel trap and jumped up at the podium.

Multiple camera angles captured the terrifying moment and even though Joao gave a thumbs up to the cameras, he was clearly shaken up and checking himself for injuries. Joao later said he was okay but it appears the camera was broken during the incident.

Joao kept filming, despite the bike hurtling toward him; although there was nowhere for him to go and he simply had to hope that the bike didn’t wipe him out.

The incident happened during qualifying for the race at Hungary’s Balaton Park on Saturday. The crashing rider was KTM pilot Pedro Acosta who later checked in on Joao to check if he was okay.

Acosta, true to his word, stopped by Joao’s camera after he finished the grand prix in second place, waving to him and flashing a hand heart.

It was the first time that MotoGP had been to Balaton Park and 30 years since the premier motorcycle racing class had visited Hungary. There were complaints about the suitability of the track for MotoGP; some critics said the track is too small for the 1000cc prototype bikes, citing the scary incident.

“If this isn’t enough to get a track taken off the calendar, I’m not sure what is. Absolutely should not be happening in this day and age,” writes MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

It has been an eventful weekend for sports cameramen: earlier today, PetaPixel reported on a photographer at the US Open who sparked chaos after entering the court during match point. He was escorted from the venue and his credentials have been removed.