After yesterday’s bad crash in the pre-qualifying session, Aleix Espargaro had another one today in the sprint race. It happened in turn 15 on the last lap, when he was in sixth position behind Fabio Di Giannantonio. He was at high speed and had a nasty roll in the gravel. He had pain in his right wrist and went to the Medical Center at the TT Circuit Assen for all the necessary checks.
Sprint MotoGP Assen, Espargaro and Savadori’s conditions
Antonio Boselli, Aprilia communication manager, spoke to Sky Sport and explained that for Espargaro “there is a suspicion of a fracture to the metacarpal of the right hand and there is also something to the right foot“. To carry out more in-depth tests it was decided that the pilot will go to hospital.
Also in hospital is Lorenzo Savadori, who took a big blow to his back and is in a lot of pain after the fall in the first part of the sprint race. A CT scan is needed to establish in detail the physical conditions of the two riders.
Technical director Romano Albesiano expressed his point of view on the accident that happened to Aleix: “Maybe he remembered the double overtaking he did here two years ago in that situation. Probably the desire to recover the position led him to enter a bit fast, it happens. This is a track where you go very fast on average, so when you fall there can be consequences“.
UPDATE 7.30 PM – Espargaro’s condition will be checked again on Sunday morning before the warmup. The x-ray of the right hand showed a simple fracture of the fifth metacarpal, confirmed by CT scan. Instead, Savadori was declared unfit to race: he was diagnosed with a small fracture of the lumbar vertebrae.
Photo: MotoGP
