Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier, 19, dies after crash in qualifying (CNN)Jason Dupasquier a 19-year-old

(CNN)Jason Dupasquier, a 19-year-old Swiss Moto3 rider, has died after being involved in a serious crash during Saturday's qualifying session at the Italian Grand Prix, MotoGP announced on Sunday.

"Dupasquier was involved in a multi-rider incident between Turns 9 and 10, with the session Red Flagged thereafter," the statement read.
"FIM Medical Intervention Vehicles arrived at the site immediately and the Swiss rider was attended to on track before being transferred by medical helicopter, in a stable state, to Careggi Hospital in Florence.
"Despite the best efforts of circuit medical staff and all those subsequently attending to the

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Teammates of Jason Dupasquier pay a minute of silence in his memory on Sunday.
His team, Prüstel GP, said on Facebook, "We're devastated, and at this time all of our thoughts are with Jason's family. You'll be sorely missed and never forgotten, Jason."
MotoGP added on Twitter, "On behalf of the entire MotoGP family, we send our love to his team, his family and loved ones. You will be sorely missed, Jason. Ride in peace."
Dupasquier was in his second season in the Moto3 World Championship. He was ranked 12th in the standings with 27 points.
Dupasquier began his career in Supermoto where he was a multiple-time Swiss National champion. He won the NEC Championship Moto3 title in 2016 before moving to the Junior World Championship a year later.

Swiss motorcyclist Jason Dupasquier dies following Moto3 crash
FLORENCE, Italy -- Swiss motorcycle rider Jason Dupasquier has died following a crash during Moto3 qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, the Careggi Hospital in Florence announced Sunday. He was 19.

"Despite the best efforts of circuit medical staff and all those subsequently attending to the Swiss rider, the hospital has announced that Dupasquier has sadly succumbed to his injuries," MotoGP said in a statement.

Dupasquier was involved in an accident with Ayumu Sasaki and Jeremy Alcoba toward the end of Saturday's session, which was immediately red-flagged.

Dupasquier appeared to fall and was then hit by his own motorbike and that of Sasaki, while a visibly shocked Alcoba later said on television that he thought he had also gone over the Swiss rider's legs.

He was treated on the track for approximately 30 minutes before a helicopter landed and airlifted him to a hospital in Florence.

Dupasquier's team, Prustel GP, did not take part in Sunday's race, while his fellow Swiss rider Tom Luthi pulled out of the Moto2 contest.

Dupasquier was in his second season in MotoGP's lightweight class and was in the top 10 in the overall standings heading into the weekend.

The MotoGP grid staged a one-minute silence ahead of Sunday's 23-lap race, which was won by world championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

Following his victory, the French rider stopped at the scene of Dupasquier's accident before pointing to the sky. He then waved a Swiss flag on the podium in Dupasquier's honour.

"It was tough because when you do the one-minute silence, the emotion is coming really quick and it is difficult to stay focused," said the 22-year-old Quartararo. "We got the win and that one was for Jason and his family."

Tributes flooded in from other riders, as well as from across the world of motorsport.

Formula One tweeted: "No words can ever describe the pain of such a loss. Our thoughts are with Jason's family, friends and the entire MotoGP community."

Many F1 teams and drivers also took to social media to express their condolences.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who secured pole position at last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, tweeted: "Rest in peace, Jason."

Scott Dixon ran to the top of the board in the final practice before Sunday's Indianapolis 500 and called it a day with 45 minutes remaining in the session.

"Hopefully it runs this good in the race," Dixon said after his lap at 228.323 mph put the six-time IndyCar champion in control of Friday's practice. "I was told we were done. We got through our list. I thought the car felt good.

"Also, the conditions, I thought everyone was going to feel like King Kong out there."

Dixon packed his helmet and calmly headed back to the paddock at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, his rivals taking nervous notice of how confident the pole sitter is ahead of this weekend's race.

"We changed our plans when we saw that. We knew we were in trouble," Will Power said jokingly. "Completely changed the car. I thought I was safe, then I saw him get out. That's it. It's over."

Rain disrupted the traditional Carb Day practice, but IndyCar was able to get cars on track for almost two hours later Friday afternoon. The speedway leased Air Titan track dryers from NASCAR to get the 2½-mile track dry for a practice session in which all 33 cars got on track.

The session was shortened for the final 10 minutes when it once again began to rain, but not before Team Penske showed it was ready to race Sunday and the rest of the field indicated it should be a rather exciting show.

"The racing is amazing right now," said Colton Herta, who will start second alongside Dixon. "I hope it stays this cool for the race because it is actually a lot of fun out there."

Said Dixon: "That may give you an indication of how the race will be. If it's like this, it's going to be mentally draining. There's going to be a lot of action going on."

The biggest surprise was Team Penske, which struggled in qualifying and nearly missed the race with Power. One of the greatest qualifiers in IndyCar history had to fight his way into the 33-car field -- brushing the wall on his final qualifying attempt -- and rookie Scott McLaughlin at 17th was the highest-qualifying Penske driver.

"I honestly felt bad for Will. Obviously, he's a fierce competitor. Seeing the struggles, not him, but the team are going through for qualifying pace," Dixon said. "He's probably the greatest qualifier of our era, if not all time. You definitely know it's not him. It's just one of those frustrating things.

"He handled it extremely well. Kudos for keeping his foot in it, too, which made for some great TV, some great Internet stuff as well."

Team owner Roger Penske said his four cars would be just fine come race day, and that seemed to be the case in final practice. Simon Pagenaud, the 2019 race winner, was second fastest and followed by Josef Newgarden in third. Power, the 2018 winner, was sixth, and McLaughlin was seventh.

Conor Daly, meanwhile, was fourth fastest on the day in yet another strong showing for Ed Carpenter Racing. But he said Friday was his worst day of the month, and he was furious after a near on-track incident with Santino Ferrucci.

"It was like we were sacrificing our vehicles for a prize today," Daly said. "Did you win anything today? I didn't."

Marco Andretti, meanwhile, was fifth fastest after rebuilding the floor of his car Saturday following a disappointing qualifying effort. The change had an immediate effect, and Andretti now believes he has a shot at winning the race.

"I've had a car to win this race a lot of times. I've said that before the race," Andretti said. "We just have to see if the stars align, do our job, slowly get there, hopefully stay out of messes. But the field is pretty stacked, very talented, hopefully very smart."

Andretti was the pole sitter a year ago but the first since 2001 to fail to lead a single lap.

Milo Ventimiglia to wave green flag as Indianapolis 500 honorary starter
"This Is Us" actor Milo Ventimiglia will serve as the honorary starter for Sunday's Indianapolis 500.

Ventimiglia will wave the green flag and start the 105th running of the race. Ventimiglia plays family patriarch Jack Pearson on the show and is a three-time Emmy nominee for best actor.

"Milo's passion for racing and speed make him the perfect choice for this exciting Race Day honor," IMS president Doug Boles said.

Ventimiglia's "This Is Us" co-star Justin Hartley, who plays Kevin, served as the honorary starter for the 2019 IndyCar Grand Prix on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick will lead the field to green Sunday as the honorary pace car driver, while country recording artist Jimmie Allen will perform the national anthem before the race.

Indianapolis 500 set to become largest attended sporting event since coronavirus pandemic
With a reduced-capacity sellout crowd of 135,000 fans expected for Sunday's race, the Indianapolis 500 is set to become the largest sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway worked with the Marion County Public Health Department to determine that 40% of venue capacity will be allowed. At full capacity, the speedway is the largest sporting facility in the world with more than 250,000 grandstand seats and the ability to host close to 400,000 on race day throughout the entire property.

The race will easily surpass other large sporting events of late. More than 73,000 fans attended the boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders earlier this month in Arlington, Texas. A cricket match last month drew 78,000 fans in Melbourne, Australia.

Last year's race, which was moved from its traditional Memorial Day weekend slot to August because of the pandemic, was won by Takuma Sato. There were no spectators for the first time in its 104 runnings.

The infield's raucous "Snake Pit'' will be closed and all the traditional pre-race concerts will not be held, including on Friday's Carb Day. There will be suite seating and the Pagoda will be open to those with tickets, but the midway will be closed.

Jimmie Johnson getting 'more comfortable' with idea of racing in Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jimmie Johnson was inside a sauna at 120 degrees and climbing as part of an hourlong sweat session preparing him to race on hot summer days. It's part of a fitness program that calls for mental exercises to be completed while roasting inside the sweat bath, but Johnson was knocking out phone calls instead.

He wanted to talk Wednesday about his first weekend at the Indianapolis 500, where the seven-time NASCAR champion was part of the NBC Sports broadcast team over two days of qualifying. Johnson had never before attended any part of the Indy 500.

Had rules permitted, he just might have kicked Tony Kanaan right out of his car.

"I knew it was going to go one way or the other. I was either going to be totally against oval racing or see that the next realistic step is a test session," Johnson told The Associated Press.

What he learned over the weekend is that the driver approach to the Indianapolis 500 is not unlike how his NASCAR peers head into races at Daytona and Talladega, where speeds are higher and crashes common.

"I have in my mind that these IndyCar drivers enter these oval races like we do a restrictor-plate race, and it's a much more calculated and conservative approach in an Indy car due to the risk