Marini fractures collarbone in MotoGP sprint race crash with team-mate
VR46 Ducati rider Luca Marini has been declared unfit to continue the MotoGP Indian Grand Prix after fracturing his collarbone in a sprint race shunt.
After a delay of almost two hours due to rain, the very first MotoGP race on Indian soil got underway on Saturday with the shortened sprint contest.
Run in dry conditions over 11 laps, Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin dominated the race by 1.389 seconds over championship leader Francesco Bagnaia.
It has cut the factory Ducati rider's lead down to 33 points and marked Martin's fourth sprint success of the 2023 season.
It also allowed Martin to pull further clear of VR46 Ducati rider Marco Bezzecchi in second in the standings, with this gap up to 36 points.
Bezzecchi was forced into a recovery ride having gotten a bad launch from pole position in the sprint.
Team-mate Marini got a better launch from fourth and was able to draw alongside Bezzecchi into Turn 1, but outbraked himself and collided with his team-mate.
Marini was taken out of the race on the spot while Bezzecchi recovered to fifth.
The former was taken to the medical centre for checks, which revealed he has suffered a fracture to his collarbone and will now go to hospital for further evaluation.
A brief statement from VR46 read: "Luca Marini has been diagnosed with a left collarbone fracture. He will be taken to the hospital for further medical checks."
Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team Crash at the start of Sprint
Photo by: M Saad
As such, he has been declared unfit by MotoGP to continue the Indian GP weekend on Sunday for the main race.
With the Japanese GP just a week away, Marini is also in doubt for the Motegi round.
Marini has been awarded a long lap penalty for the next grand prix in which he is fit to take part in.
He is the second rider to have been ruled out on Saturday from the remainder of the Indian GP due to injury.
Gresini Ducati rider Alex Marquez crashed heavily at the end of Q1 and suffered three rib fractures on the left side of his body.
He has since confirmed he will not take part in next week’s Japanese GP and is aiming to be back in action in October at the Indonesian GP.
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