Baz in doubt for Catalunya after suffering broken foot

The French rider was caught up in a three-way crash at the first corner of the Mugello race that was triggered by a mistake by Aprilia rider Alvaro Bautista, who lost the front end and eliminated both Baz and Jack Miller.

While Miller and Bautista both emerged unharmed, Baz was diagnosed with three fractured metatarsals in his right foot, and his Avintia Ducati team has confirmed he will be taken to Geneva for surgery on Tuesday.

"From the first moment [after the crash] I realised that my foot was broken," said Baz. "I got fractures on the second, third, fourth and fifth metatarsus, and a displacement on the first one.

"I got set the first one at the circuit medical centre and I will go to the hospital at Geneva on Tuesday to fix the rest.

"I don’t know how long will take the recovery because is a difficult place and can swell a lot.

"I will follow the doctor's instructions because I don’t want to come back [too] soon and take risks for the next races."

Bautista apologises

For his part, Bautista - who had crashed heavily in morning warm-up and was therefore forced to race on his spare RS-GP - apologised for causing the incident that left Baz injured.

"In the warm-up lap the front brake felt strange, so I adjusted the lever before the start," said Bautista.

"When I got to the first turn I braked normally, but as I was leaning the bike into it I felt the wheel lock up and I crashed.

"I want to apologise to Baz and Miller, who I involuntarily involved in my crash."