until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Ducati MotoGP rider Enea Bastianini will have a spell on the sidelines after a crash in the 2023 season-opening inaugural MotoGP sprint race at Portimao.
Bastianini was taken out of the 12-lap sprint on the second tour, when he went wide and VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini crashed trying to fill the inside line – with Marini’s fallen Desmosedici then taking down Bastianini in what looked a hard impact with the ground.
DISASTER for Ducati! 😮@Luca_Marini_97 and @Bestia23 are out after contact at Turn 5! 💥#PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/0tpHJCjsC6
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 25, 2023
In obvious pain after the accident, Bastianini was taken to the medical centre at the Portimao circuit. He subsequently headed to hospital for what MotoGP described as “pain in the right scapular area” and a fracture was then officially confirmed.
Ducati has now announced that Bastianini, who joined the factory team for this year, will be absent from not just Sunday’s Portimao race but the full Termas de Rio Hondo weekend in Argentina next week.
He will be the second MotoGP full-timer sidelined at this early stretch of the season, with Tech3 Gas Gas rider Pol Espargaro having been injured in a monster crash on Friday.
The incident was investigated by the stewards, but no penalty was assessed.
“It’s a pity – I just made my line but I was leaning one degree more, to avoid any contact with Enea, and I lost the front,” said Marini.
“Then my bike hit him. It’s a pity also for him. These things can happen. But it’s always a problem.
“So I’m sorry for this, but sincerely, it’s difficult to say it’s a big fault for me. It’s a racing incident. I hope he can be well. I went to his box but he hadn’t come back from the medical centre.”
Purtroppo ho una frattura alla scapola, ma la cosa bella sarà tornare in pista più forte di prima! 💪 pic.twitter.com/SRBkYu1qZ9
— Enea Bastianini (@Bestia23) March 25, 2023
