Bagnaia's
Miraculous
Escape
F
rancesco 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, Septem
-
ber 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 Da
-
vide 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 un
-
derstand. 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 hopeful
-
ly, in Misano we'll have an answer."
Neil Morrison
WIND
IN THE
P32
Francesco Bagnaia gives the
thumbs up on the medical board
after his massive high-side.
PHOTO: GOLD & GOOSE
Bastianini KO'd
E
nea 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 rid-
ers 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 profession-
als 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.'"
Neil Morrison
Enea Bastianini's 2023 is a year to forget.
