Factory Ducati MotoGP rider Enea Bastianini will miss at least three more races of the 2023 MotoGP season following his Turn 1 crash during Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix.
The Italian underwent successful surgery on Monday afternoon to repair fractures to both his hand and ankle but will sit out not just his home round in Misano this weekend but also at least the following two races in India and Japan.
Thank you for your support ❤️ pic.twitter.com/wC4F0ihjzR
— Enea Bastianini (@Bestia23) September 3, 2023
Bastianini was the instigator of a Turn 1 collision that took out four of his fellow Ducati riders in the process, with Johann Zarco, Alex Marquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi also falling.
He was deemed to be the cause of the pile-up so he will also have to serve a long lap penalty upon his eventual return.
With a broken left ankle and left hand, he was by far the worst of all those who crashed despite initial concern going the way of his team-mate Pecco Bagnaia who crashed two corners later.
As he needed surgery to repair his ankle, he elected to have his hand plated as well to help speed up his recovery process and had a successful operation on Monday evening at the Policlinico of Modena.
While it hasn’t been confirmed officially yet, it seems likely that Ducati test rider Michele Pirro will (not for the first time) have his scheduled Misano wildcard upgraded to a seat in the factory team, as well as joining the MotoGP circus for trips to Motegi and, for the first time, India’s Buddh circuit.
The news marks yet more absence from the 2023 MotoGP grid during his first year in Ducati colours. Bastianini was himself wiped out by Luca Marini at the opening round of the season back in March, leading to him badly breaking his shoulder which forced him to subsequently miss the next four rounds of the championship.
