Two Aprilia riders examined in hospital after crashes in the Assen sprint: Lorenzo Savadori with vertebrae fractures, Aleix Espargaro with broken bone in hand
Mixed feelings at Aprilia after the MotoGP sprint on Saturday in Assen (Netherlands). On the one hand, Maverick Vinales crossed the finish line in third place, moving past Pedro Acosta (Tech3-GasGas) into fifth place in the current overall MotoGP standings
On the other hand, Vinales’ teammate Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia’s wildcard starter Lorenzo Savadori crashed independently of each other. Both suffered injuries. Savadori has already been ruled out for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Espargaro’s case is still open.
Savadori crashed in turn 8 while riding in 18th place in the early stages. Espargaro’s crash happened on the last lap when he was riding in sixth place behind Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati). At turn 15, the fast left-hander before the final chicane, the MotoGP rookie slipped off the front wheel of his Aprilia.
While the bike was levered off the kerb and rolled over several times in both the asphalt run-off area and the gravel trap, Espargaro initially slid flat into the gravel trap. There, however, he was also leveraged out and performed several somersaults at high speed
That was a fast one
A massive last-lap blow for @AleixEspargaro, who thankfully got back up DutchGP pic. twitter.com/DpMmZ5desf
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) June 29, 2024
After initial checks at the track’s medical center, Espargaro and Savadori both had to go to a nearby hospital. Savadori, whose crash, unlike Espargaro’s, was not shown on TV, was diagnosed with lumbar vertebrae fractures. The Italian was declared “not fit” for the Grand Prix on Sunday. This means that he will not be able to start.
For Espargaro, who suffered a broken bone in his right hand, it is still unclear whether he will be able to compete on Sunday. Aprilia announced on Saturday evening: “X-rays of Espargaro’s right hand show a simple fracture of the fifth metacarpal. This was confirmed with a CT scan. He will undergo a medical check tomorrow before the warm-up. “
