France’s Bruno Bonhuil Killed in Practice

MACAU – French motorcyclist Bruno Bonhuil died from chest injuries after his bike rammed into a barrier during a practice round at the Macau Grand Prix on Saturday.

Bonhuil, 45, lost control of his bike near the Mandarin Bend Exit about five minutes into a half-hour morning practice session – just hours before the Grand Prix.

James Dawson, a mechanic on Bonhuil’s nearly formed Team of Paris, said he thought Bonhuil was going too fast and race conditions weren’t to blame.

“He had to push the bike a bit harder to make a turn and the bike slipped and he hit the side,” Dawson said. “It wasn’t a mechanical error … He was doing what he does. He was trying to go fast. That’s what this whole thing is about.”

Dawson said Bonhuil was still conscious after the accident, but was pronounced dead from the injuries within an hour.

Bonhuil, a native of Champagne, France, who was an experienced rider, finished ninth in Macau in 2000 and was supposed to start 20th in Saturday’s formal race. He was third in the World Championship of Endurance in 1999.

His death overshadowed Briton Michael Rutter’s record-tying sixth win in the Motorcycle Grand Prix Saturday.

“I just feel for the family and everything,” Rutter said. “It just put a bit of a dampener on the day.”

Bonhuil is survived by his wife and daughter, race organizers said in a statement. Funeral arrangements weren’t immediately available.