Swiss motorbike champ killed after win

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DUBAI: Swiss motorcyclist was killed after colliding with another rider only moments after winning a race, track officials said Saturday in a statement.

Pascal Grosjean, 39, had crossed the line Friday and slowed to celebrate winning a Sportsbike Championship race when third-place finisher Tony Jordan ran into him at about 124 mph, throwing both riders to the tarmac at the Dubai Autodrome.

Grosjean was airlifted to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Jordan remains in a serious condition.

"The Dubai Autodrome team and the motorsport community of the UAE are deeply saddened by the enormous loss and pass on our sincere condolences to Pascal Grosjean's family and friends," Hamish Brown, the general executive of Dubai Autodrome, said in a statement. "Pascal was a multiple UAE champion who was well respected in motorsport and motorcycle community."

The Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE has launched a full inquiry into the accident.

Carissa Crowley, the public relations and marketing manager for Grosjean's racing team, Gros Gros, told Dubai's The National newspaper that the Swiss rider's death came just as his career was on the upswing.

"It is such a great loss. He was at the top of his game," she said. "He was planning to go to Germany this year so that he could bring success to the team internationally."

Grosjean, the reigning UAE Sportbike 600cc champion, is the latest fatality at the track located on the outskirts of Dubai. In April, Belgian driver Christophe Hissette, 29, died when his car caught fire during a qualifying session.

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