MotoGP points leader Pecco Bagnaia looks to have escaped his horrific Barcelona crash with nothing more than “contusions” – but Ducati has confirmed arm and leg fractures for team-mate Enea Bastianini.
Bagnaia had a massive high-side exiting Turn 2 while in the lead on the opening lap of the Catalan Grand Prix, and was hit in the legs by the KTM of Brad Binder after landing off his Ducati.
He was taken to the medical centre and then to hospital in Barcelona, but the initial assessment from MotoGP medical director Angel Charte suggested no serious damage had been done.
An update from Bagnaia’s Ducati team has now stated that the 2022 champion “sustained multiple contusions, but further medical checks have shown no fractures”.
Bastianini’s leg injury is a non-displaced fracture of the medial malleolus – a small bone at the end of the tibia – on his left leg, while the hand damage, also on the left side, is a fracture of the ‘neck’ of the second metacarpal.
Both his hand and his leg are now in casts, and both injuries will be repaired surgically.
Bastianini was on the far inside line coming into Turn 1 after the start and made contact with Johann Zarco, tipping in for the corner, deep into the braking zone, creating a collision that also took down Alex Marquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi.
Gresini duo Marquez and Di Giannantonio bounced back to finish in the top 10 after taking the restart, but Bezzecchi was more affected, struggling to 12th and confirming afterwards that he would have a Monday check-up to see the impact of damage to his hand.
A long-lap penalty was assessed to Bastianini and, as he didn’t take the restart and was unable to serve it, he is now due to serve it in his next grand prix start in the series.
The race was off to a heart-stopping start! 😱
It was T1 mayhem at the back of the field with five riders involved in a crash 💥#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/hyKKi9avIw
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 3, 2023
This seems incredibly unlikely to be in the next round at Misano.
For Bagnaia, however, appearing at Misano, even if it comes the very next weekend after Barcelona, must now be a consideration, and Ducati confirmed he will already head to Italy on Sunday evening.
