MotoGP’s unluckiest racer Miguel Oliveira has once again been sidelined through no fault of his own, with the Pramac Yamaha racer set to miss Sunday’s Argentine Grand Prix after getting taken out of Saturday’s sprint race by rookie Fermin Aldeguer.
Initially diagnosed with a suspected broken collarbone, X-rays at the circuit gave him the all clear but saw him instead sent 80km away to Santiago del Estero for a CT scan on a suspected broken sternum which thankfully also came back clear.
“Going into Turn 2, another rider attempted to pass me by going too far inside the curb, lost control of his bike, and ended up hitting the rear of mine in a classic domino effect, sending me to the ground.
“I‘m disappointed that I wasn‘t able to finish the race: even though scoring points in this sprint race would have been difficult, we could have gathered valuable data for tomorrow‘s grand prix.
“However, I‘m more relieved that, despite it being a nasty crash, I didn‘t suffer any serious injuries. The medical examinations ruled out any fractures, though I have a large hematoma in the sternoclavicular area, and overall, my whole body is feeling sore right now.
“I‘m now focusing on recovery with the physiotherapists and hoping to get some good rest. Tomorrow morning, we‘ll see how I feel and, after another medical evaluation, determine whether I‘ll be cleared to race."
However, while he might not have broken any bones, his Pramac team sent out a message late on Saturday night local time to say that instead of taking part in the next day’s race at Termas de Rio Hondo, he would instead travel back to Portugal to have suspected ligament damage in his left shoulder examined.
Gresini Racing’s Aldeguer will serve a long lap penalty in Sunday’s main race for the incident, a sanction that the apologetic teenager was quick to accept when he spoke to the media after the collision.
“I tried to overtake as fast as possible,” he explained, “trying to recover positions, but I touched him. I have to say sorry to Miguel and also to the Prima Pramac team.”
The crash is now the fifth time that Oliveira has been left injured through no fault of his own since the start of the 2023 MotoGP season, marking a particularly bad run of luck for the Portuguese racer.
A Marc Marquez-triggered pile-up in the 2023 Portimao season opener left him with tendon damage on his leg and forced him to miss the following race at Termas, while being hit by Fabio Quartararo at Jerez a month later resulted in a dislocated shoulder and saw him sitting out the French GP at Le Mans.
Contact with fellow Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix saw Oliveira suffer a painful scapula break and led to him missing the season finale at Valencia.
He also missed five races at the end of the 2024 season when a malfunctioning traction control system on his Trackhouse Aprilia caused him to crash at the Indonesian Grand Prix and break his right wrist.
