Francesco Bagnaia looks to have escaped serious injury from his nasty crash at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix, according to MotoGP Medical Director Dr Angel Charte.
The factory Ducati rider suffered a large impact after landing hard following a violent high-side exiting Turn 2 on the opening lap of the Spanish GP at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Bagnaia subsequently run over in the leg area by the unsighted KTM of Brad Binder.
With a red flag swiftly issued to help remove the conscious Bagnaia from the circuit, the Italian was transported to the medical centre and then to the local hospital in Barcleona after a “small injury” in the “femoral and tibial area” was picked up by the circuit medical centre’s facilities.
Speaking to Spanish broadcaster DAZN, Charte said that Bagnaia needed to undergo a further CAT scan in hospital in order to ascertain whether the injury is one picked up in the crash or potentially one from a previous incident.
“Pecco has had severe polytrauma, a motorbike ran over him in the femoral and tibial area,” explained Charte.
“We have taken x-rays of this area and have detected a small injury that we don’t know if it is current or old.
“We need to do an urgent CAT scan and that is why we have sent him to the general hospital.
“At cranial, thoracic and abdominal levels, he has been normal at all times. He was conscious and oriented. The image we have seen is from conventional radiology, so it is difficult to be sure that there is no fracture.
“It is necessary to do a CAT scan.”
It remains to be seen whether Bagnaia will be able to take to the track for next weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix, where he will need to defend a reduced 50 point margin in the championship ahead of Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin – who claimed third behind Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales in the Spanish GP.
Keyword: Bagnaia suffers ‘small injury’ in violent Spanish GP crash