Simon Crafar: How a horrific crash became the turning point of his life

Today, as Chairman of the FIM MotoGP Stewards, Simon Crafar bears a great deal of responsibility in the Grand Prix paddock. However, the former 500cc GP winner’s path to this position was anything but straightforward. After retiring from racing, the New Zealander initially lost his bearings. A serious motorbike accident in 2009 ultimately proved to be a turning point.

Yet Crafar had originally had specific plans for his life after racing. The technically minded New Zealander had trained as a motorbike mechanic in his home country and, after his racing career, wanted to work as a suspension engineer at Öhlins. He was indeed offered this opportunity and quickly settled into his new role in the paddock.

However, life as a technician would have meant continuing to spend a large part of the year travelling. At the same time, Crafar had just become a father. Despite an offer for a second year, he decided against this career path. “It dawned on me: if I sign this, there’s a good chance I’ll end up divorced. My wife was at home in Andorra without any support, and I would have been away for most of the year,” Crafar recalled on the Crash.net podcast.

A sense of emptiness after retiring from racing

Instead, Crafar returned to racing once more and competed in the British Superbike Championship. Looking back, he describes this move as the wrong decision. Above all, his final farewell to professional racing took a massive toll on him.

Simon Crafar fuhr Ende der 1990er für Red Bull Yamaha WCM

Foto: Gold & Goose

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“When I stopped racing, it was brutal. Everything – your identity as an athlete – is suddenly gone,” Crafar explained. A few years later, a friend pointed out to him that he was coming across as increasingly angry. It was only then that the former GP rider began to question his state of mind. “I realised that I thought I might be depressed.”


Crafar described the period following his retirement as a complete break with his previous life. From his teenage years right through to his early thirties, practically everything had revolved around racing. Suddenly, the phone stopped ringing; his usual role – and with it, a significant part of his identity – had vanished. “I wasn’t proud of those years, because I went from being someone who wanted to achieve something and was completely driven to someone who was, basically, lost.”

A massive blow 17 years ago

The decisive turning point came in 2009. Crafar had already taken part in the Red Bull Romaniacs twice and was subsequently working on the preparations for the hard enduro event. Whilst marking the route on an off-road motorbike, he was struck by an oncoming car.

Crafar realised immediately how serious the situation was. “I had no feeling from the middle of my chest downwards. I thought I’d never walk again. It was extremely frightening, terrifying,” he recalled. The long spell in hospital forced him to reflect on his life so far.

Visits from his wife and children, in particular, changed his perspective. Crafar realised that, after retiring from racing, he had spent years trying to find a substitute for motor racing instead of focusing on his family. The fear of never being able to romp about with his children again hit him hard.

It took eleven months before Crafar could walk again. “That accident was the turning point in figuring out what I should do – namely, to be a good husband and a good father first and foremost,” the New Zealander summarised.

A fresh start after rehab

Whilst still in hospital, the idea for his next professional venture took shape. Crafar set up his own racetrack driving school, ‘Motovudu’. There, he wanted to pass on the knowledge he had acquired during his career. The project proved a success and, for the first time since the end of his active career, gave him the feeling that he could be proud of his work again.

Das Projekt Motovudu wurde zum Erfolg

Foto: Gold & Goose

After a few more detours, this path eventually led him back to MotoGP. Promoter Dorna hired Crafar as a pit lane reporter. There, too, the former racing driver first had to familiarise himself with a completely new role. The next step in his career followed later: since the start of the 2025 season, Crafar has been Chairman of the FIM MotoGP Stewards, succeeding Freddie Spencer.


This brought things full circle for the 57-year-old. Ironically, it was the very accident in which Crafar at times feared he would never walk again that ultimately set him on a new path – one that led him back to the MotoGP paddock many years later.