until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
CryptoData RNF Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveira will miss this weekend’s Argentine Grand Prix as he continues to recover from the injuries he sustained during his home race at Portimao on Sunday, joining Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez, the instigator of the crash, in not making the trip to Termas de Rio Hondo for next weekend’s event.
Unlike Marquez, who was forced to undergo surgery on Sunday night to have two screws inserted into his right hand after breaking a metacarpal in the fall, Oliveira was lucky to escape without any broken bones when Marquez torpedoed him on the third lap of the race.
That was confirmed when he underwent further medical examination on Monday morning but, such was the severity of the contusions he received to his right leg in the impact, his team confirmed later that evening that he will rest up and recover for the United States Grand Prix in three weeks’ time rather than travelling to Argentina with the rest of his team.
“Following his crash at the Portuguese Grand Prix,” the statement read, “Oliveira underwent further testing in his hometown where further damage has been revealed, which doesn’t allow him to start the second GP of the season.
“Despite the setback, Oliveira remains committed to his goal of being competitive in the world championship and will focus on his recovery in order to return to the saddle of his Aprilia RS-GP at round three of the season in Austin, Texas just two weeks later.”
The only party in the multi-bike crash to make the trip to Termas will now be Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin, who, while managing to stay on his bike as Marquez first made contact with him, was hit with enough force to break one of his toes in the collision.
The news that Oliveira will miss the race will add further fuel to the fire stoked by the fact that Marquez has essentially escaped serving his punishment for the contact, after The Race first revealed that the specific wording of the double long lap penalty he was handed means that it only applies to the Argentine Grand Prix and is not set to transfer to the first race in which he’ll be able to ride again after his recovery.
Oliveira’s withdrawal also means that nearly 20% of the MotoGP grid will be absent through injury after only one round of the series’ longest-ever season, with him and Marquez joining Tech 3 Gas Gas rider Pol Espargaro and Ducati’s Enea Bastianini on the injury list. None of the four are expected to be replaced for this coming weekend.
