Zarco set for wrist surgery after Austria MotoGP crash
Johann Zarco will undergo surgery on Wednesday after a fracture in his wrist was discovered on Monday following his horror MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix shunt.
The Avintia Ducati rider was involved in a high-speed collision with Franco Morbidelli on lap nine of Sunday’s Austrian GP, after the Petronas Yamaha rider hit the back on the Frenchman under braking through the Turn 2 kink into Turn 3.
Zarco’s bike hit the barrier and vaulted over the track, narrowly missing Maverick Vinales’ head, while Morbidelli’s Yamaha only just avoiding wiping out Vinales and Valentino Rossi.
Both riders walked away from the frightening incident, with it thought they’d escaped with just scrapes and bruises.
However, checks on Monday revealed Zarco had actually fractured the scaphoid in his right wrist and will have an operation on it in Italy on Wednesday.
Zarco still intends to ride in this weekend’s Styrian GP at the Red Bull Ring.
“It's a classic procedure, with the placement of a screw to fix the broken bone,” Zarco told L’Equipe.
“I will be back in Austria on Thursday morning for a medical check-up to see whether or not I am able to ride this weekend for the second race organised at the Red Bull Ring.”
The incident between Morbidelli and Zarco caused a stir in the paddock, with many pointing the finger at the Avintia rider for taking an unusual line under braking at that point.
Zarco denies he moved deliberately on Morbidelli, and explained this to Valentino Rossi on Sunday after the Italian made strong comments about the incident to television.
No punishment was awarded for the crash, which was deemed a racing incident, but Morbidelli believes this is not correct.
The Italian branded Zarco “half a killer” on Sunday and said what the Avintia rider did showed “little love” for both riders.
The FIM Stewards are expected to quiz Zarco on the incident ahead of the second Red Bull Ring race this weekend.
The safety of Turns 2 and 3 has also been called into question by some, while Rossi believes riders in all classes now need to rein in the aggression levels seen in races.
Share Or Save This Story
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
Johann Zarco to wait several weeks before undergoing surgery
Johann Zarco recounts Barcelona MotoGP crash: "It was absolutely terrifying"
Johann Zarco reveals knee injury after Catalan GP crash
Bastianini “wasn’t confident” of Misano MotoGP podium return
Avintia fires MotoGP mechanic for faking PCR test result
Bastianini feels like a proper MotoGP rider after recent purple patch
Keselowski, Dillon and Buescher move on from Nashville ordeal
David Malukas “not disappointed” despite missing out on IndyCar pole at WWTR
NASCAR Cup Michigan starting lineup: Denny Hamlin snags pole, but will start from rear
IndyCar at WWT Raceway starting lineup: Alex Palou claims fourth straight pole
How Trackhouse is preparing for the post-Davide Brivio era
Why MotoGP's chiefs need to start listening to the riders on sprint issue
What we learned from MotoGP's Italian GP
Why Ducati has no doubts about Marc Marquez’s future
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments