Neil Morrison | September 6, 2023
Francesco Bagnaia was left to contemplate a miraculous escape from serious injury after being run over by Brad Binder’s KTM in a horrific first-lap crash at the Catalunya MotoGP, September 3. The current world number one suffered no fractures in the collision and was released from the hospital that night to travel back to Italy with the aid of crutches.
“Pecco Bagnaia has sustained multiple contusions, but further medical checks have shown no fractures,” read a statement from Ducati Corse Team Manager Davide Tardozzi. “He’s just sore but nothing broken. We really cross our fingers he’ll be in Misano next week.”
On the cause of the huge high-side exiting turn two, Bagnaia said, “I had very low grip from the warmup lap. It was not a normal high-side; it’s very difficult to understand. The rear grip I had on the warmup lap wasn’t normal.”
Tardozzi confirmed his rider’s statement. “I know that our engineers analyzed the data,” he said. “It seems Pecco did nothing strange. He didn’t open the throttle too much. It seems nothing in his riding was wrong. There was no leak of oil or something like that. We’ll analyze at home and hopefully, in Misano we’ll have an answer.”
Bastianini KO’d
Enea Bastianini’s miserable 2023 campaign continued apace when it was confirmed he broke his left ankle and hand in the turn-one fall when he took down four other riders at the Catalunya MotoGP.
On Bastianini’s injuries, Ducati Corse Team Manager Davide Tardozzi, said, “He’ll need to have surgery. He has a broken left ankle and a finger. So far, it doesn’t look like a nice break on the hand, but we’ll speak with the professionals to understand the situation better.”
Despite a heavy tailwind at the start being a mitigating factor, ‘The Beast’s’ actions drew criticism from his peers. “I couldn’t see a lot, but from the bike, I just could see a big mess,” Franco Morbidelli said. “But then from the video, I saw that Enea was very ‘overly ambitious.’”
A Solution To Turn-One Mayhem?
Sunday’s first-turn pile up at the Catalunya MotoGP was the fourth time at the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya. It led to discussions on how it could be avoided in future years. One idea floated was to move the start line 100-200 meters closer to turn one.
“If you look through the history books at Barcelona, there’s always a big one at turn one,” said Jack Miller. “Always has been, always will be,” said the KTM rider, who narrowly avoided being brought down in the aftermath of Bagnaia’s fall.
Franco Morbidelli was adamant that change would improve safety. “It’s going to make a difference, f**k, you arrive in fifth year, 200-plus kilometers. There is a big mess, and the braking is more difficult. For sure, it’s going to make a difference.”
But Luca Marini wasn’t so sure and cited the tricky turn one at the Red Bull Ring as an example that braking from fifth or sixth gear isn’t necessarily to blame. “No. It [would just mean] less speed, but then the corner [shape] is the same. It also [happened in] Austria, where the speed is slow, so you need to slow down a lot.”
The following is a press release from Ducati Lenovo Team…
(September 6, 2023) The Ducati Lenovo Team returns to the track this weekend to tackle the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Riviera di Rimini, the 12th round of the 2023 season, at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
It will be a different home Grand Prix for the Borgo Panigale squad. In the Catalan GP held just a few days ago, Pecco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini were involved in two bad accidents in which they suffered injuries of varying degrees.
After having impacted violently with the asphalt after a nasty highside and being run over his legs by another rider, Pecco Bagnaia walked away from the accident only with several bruises but no fractures. Therefore, he will be in Misano to race his home Grand Prix. However, the rider from Chivasso will have to undergo a medical check on Thursday to receive the doctors’ approval.
Enea Bastianini, who suffered a fracture in both his left hand and left ankle in Sunday’s multiple crash, underwent surgery Monday night at Modena Hospital and will be forced to miss his home race and the next two Grands Prix scheduled in India and Japan. The rider from Rimini will not be replaced in this race, with Bagnaia alone defending the colours of the Ducati factory team in Misano.
Francesco Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st (260 points): “On Sunday night, I went back home with the team, and after getting some rest, I immediately started preparing to be ready to return to the track in Misano. On Thursday, I will undergo the medical checkup at the circuit, and if, as I hope, the doctors give me the OK, I will be able to get on track on Friday for the first practice of my home Grand Prix. The San Marino GP is always a special event for us Italian riders and especially for us Ducati riders. I will do my best to be able to race on Saturday and Sunday.”
Click here for all the latest MotoGP news.