Fabio Di Giannantonio horrified hitting a fallen Jorge Martin in Qatar crash

The VR46 rider describes running into the injured reigning world champion as "worst scene of my life" — questioning why the race wasn’t stopped

Hitting Jorge Martin, following the injured world champion’s fall in the Qatar Grand Prix was according to Team VR46's Fabio Di Giannantonio, “the worst scene of my life”.

The Italian Ducati rider was extremely close to Martin, making it difficult to avoid hitting the Spanish rider when he lost control of his Aprilia exiting the fast Turn 12 on lap 14.

“He was in front of me and [went] a bit wide. I was pretty close to him,” said the VR46 rider as he recounted Sunday’s events. “I tried to overtake him, for sure, and once he crashed, his body was completely in front of my bike. And that is a really fast corner.

“I didn't have any chance to go anywhere, so I touched him.”

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

After the crash, Martin was seen near the edge of the track in obvious discomfort. As di Giannantonio and most spectators knew, Martin was already riding injured — Qatar was Martin’s comeback event following a pre-season training accident.

Martin was rushed to a Doha hospital following the incident, where doctors say he suffered eight fractured ribs and chest trauma and will need to remain in the facility for a few days. It is unclear if the injuries were attributable to the crash itself or to the contact with di Giannantonio’s Ducati.

Asked if he was surprised not to see a red flag following the incident, di Giannantonio said: “Actually yes. I have goosebumps because it was the worst scene of my life. Honestly, it was a super bad crash, and he was still on the ground. I was watching the [giant trackside] screens trying to understand if he was okay or not.”

Following the first images of Martin in pain on the ground, he was then briefly seen receiving attention very close to the edge of the track, with all concerned protected by only a yellow flag that flew for almost two full laps. Martin was eventually removed from the scene, though this was not shown on the broadcast.

Di Giannantonio rode the rest of the race – finishing 16th after an earlier incident with Alex Marquez – uncertain of Martin’s status.

“I was pushing but I was thinking of him the whole race, because I was really scared. I stopped outside of his pit box just at the end of the race, because I wanted to know from the team that he was okay.”