A seagull was killed after a high-speed impact crash with MotoGP racer Andrea Ionnane in Australia at the weekend.

The Australian MotoGP race is being widely regarded by motorsport fans as the race of the century after a race-long battle for the lead between championship leaders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha, along with the Honda of Marc Marquez and the Ducati of Andrea Iannone.

However, it was Iannone who hit the headlines early on in the race after a rather unfortunate clash of heads with a seagull.

On the second lap of the race, Iannone’s Ducati was leading from Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha as they entered the final sector of the track. The leading pack of riders exited turn nine when commentators and fans worldwide spotted a helpless seagull that was situated on the racing line entering the hairpin at turn ten.

Iannone was the first to reach the seagull and, despite the seagull’s attempts to fly away, he head-butted the bird, who immediately fell to the ground.

While fans around the world were heartbroken to see an animal hit by a bike at 140kph, Ducati fans had even more reason to be unhappy, as the head-butt of the seagull caused Iannone to run wide and allowed Lorenzo to pass by and lead the race.

The race was eventually won by Marc Marquez’ Honda with a dramatic overtake on the final lap into turn 10 on Jorge Lorenzo.

Iannone eventually finished third after fighting off a late Rossi attack through what some are light-heartedly dubbing 'Seagull Corner'.

Rossi now leads the World Championship by eleven points from his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, with Rossi chasing an astonishing tenth world title at the age of 36.

Online Editors