Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco remainhospital after the two MotoGP riders sustained fractures in separate crashes that forced the Catalan Grand Prix to be red-flagged twice.
Gresini Racing’s Marquez could not react in time when Pedro Acosta’s bike lost power and he slammed into the back of the KTM, before he careered towards the wall and then cartwheeled through the air as he lost control on the gravel.
Marquez was immediately rushed to the hospital where scans confirmed he had a marginal fracture on the vertebra near his neck as well as a fracture on his right collarbone, with the Spaniard set to undergo surgery later on Sunday.
“Everything’s under control. I’m due to go into the operating theatre tonight, but I couldn’t be in better hands,” Marquez said on X, formerly Twitter.
“Thank you all so much for your concern and for the kind messages I’ve been receiving.”
After the race restarted, LCR Honda’s Zarco was involved in a crash when he braked late on turn one of the first lap as he took out Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia and Honda’s Luca Marini in a three-rider pile-up.
Both Bagnaia and Marini immediately signalled for help from the track marshals after Zarco tumbled across the gravel with his leg caught on Bagnaia’s bike. “Don’t worry, we’re still waiting for the test results. I’ve got a neck brace on, but it’s more of a nuisance than anything else,” Zarco said on Instagram.
“It’s mainly the knee, the ligaments have snapped. But the femur isn’t broken. There’s a small fracture at the `bottom of the fibula, on the outside of my `left ankle. “So there you go, I’ll keep you posted. Just to put your minds at rest, really. More of a scare than anything… I’m staying in hospital tonight because they want to keep an eye on me.”
Reuters
