MotoGP Silverstone preview

Italians have never been big on hiding their emotions, but for once I knew where the weeping and wailing fans in Mugello were coming from. Nine times world champion Valentino Rossi had violently crashed during practice for the Italian Grand Prix. Our hero lay in the gravel, clutching his right leg which hung at an odd angle. You get used to seeing riders fall off but Valentino was clearly in excruciating pain. It was a horrid thing to watch.

Immediately afterwards, a dramatic story unfolded via tweets and texts and clumsy translations – he was airlifted to hospital, members of his entourage formed an emotional, wet-eyed perimeter outside the emergency ward, crew and relatives were smuggled in covertly to avoid the attentions of the hordes of press. Valentino's shin bone was poking through his skin and he'd broken a calf bone, too. It felt monumental – for the first time in 14 years, the rider we'd all assumed was invincible was going to miss a race.

So what had happened? Two laps in to a new tyre Rossi slowed to shake off Hector Barbera who was following, presumably looking for a free lesson in racing lines. Seven seconds later Rossi got back on the throttle, but in that short space of time his rear tyre had lost temperature – and therefore grip. It kicked the bike viciously sideways in a split second then the tyre suddenly regaining grip catapulted Valentino through the air. Fast as a cobra strike, we'd seen a classic highside. He would probably have got away with it, too, thanks to cushioning airbag leathers, had it not been his leg which awkwardly took the brunt of the 93mph landing.

Now the dust has settled and we've dried our hankies, it's time for some context. Doctor's orders predict a six-month lay-off, but Valentino will race again, he wants to come back for the Brno race in the Czech Republic on August 15th! After all, as far as motorcycle accidents go, it's relatively minor (just compare it to Guy Martin's 170mph crash into a stone wall at the Isle of Man TT last week which resulted in bruised lungs and a fractured spine – although mercifully he too will be OK).

Formula One driver Mark Webber sustained the exact same injury when a car knocked him off his bicycle a couple of years ago, and he's already telephoned Valentino to reassure him it won't make him any slower. Maybe he quoted the case of Michael Schumacher, who broke his leg in a crash at Silverstone in 1999 and after three months out came back to take pole by nearly a second.

Injuries are a motorcycle racer's occupational hazard. All the greats have had bones rebuilt with a bit of wrought iron – Mick Doohan and Kevin Schwantz still set off airport metal detectors despite removing their belts. So the fact Valentino crashed isn't a sign of weakness, it's just a sign that his skills managed to prevent the inevitable from happening for an amazing 230 races.

Valentino won't be replaced for a couple of races, presumably because with limited engines available this year Yamaha want to keep some stock in hand for his return, and freed from durability concerns they could then turn the rev limit right up. Who knows, if Messrs Pedrosa, Stoner, Dovizioso and Hayden can all take points out of current championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in the interim, Rossi may be able to return with his batch of mega-engines and still have a part to play in this championship.

That is a prospect we'll have to be patient about, though. In the first instance we've got the British Grand Prix at Silverstone to deal with this weekend – and a track with new sections and stands to make it even more bike and bike fan-friendly. In effect it's a new circuit, and new circuits are level playing fields because nobody has any previous experience or set-up data. The ones who will shine will be the quick learners – so keep your eye on Tech 3 Yamaha's Ben Spies.

I suspect most MotoGP fans will be cheering on Rossi's team-mate Lorenzo, however, because of the riding ability he's displayed this year and recent love of novelty celebrations. Whether the man with his leg in traction will be cheering Lorenzo on quite so loudly is less certain.

* Watch the British MotoGP, Sunday June 20 at 12.15pm on BBC2.