Moto2: Bezzecchi sick in helmet - again

Marco Bezzecchi's hopes of scoring a best-yet Moto2 race finish ended when he was sick inside his helmet midway through Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

Worryingly, it was the second event in a row where the rookie has thrown up while riding, after a similar incident during practice in Thailand.

At Motegi, the Italian was holding ninth when he suddenly sat up and ran off track with what looked like some kind of technical problem, but the reality was more unpleasant.

“Until half race distance, I was feeling well on the bike and managed to truly stick with the front guys," said Bezzecchi, who has taken a best finish of tenth so far this season.

"We had a best result in sight, but unfortunately, I felt sick around halfway of the race and after throwing up I didn’t see any possibility to finish the 22 laps.

"I’m sorry to my guys! I don’t understand, where this was coming from, but I will for sure try to find a solution in order to repeat this performance in Australia and bring it to the finish line.”

Red Bull KTM Tech3 team manager Herve Poncharal added: “Until around half of the race we were very, very excited to see Marco fighting in the top group... Unfortunately for the second time in a row he has been throwing up inside his helmet. The same thing happened in Thailand, fortunately there in practice.

"He couldn’t see, he couldn’t ride anymore. I think, this is a big shame, because I don’t know what exactly happened, maybe he was a bit nervous or he ate too close to the start of the race, either way, we couldn’t finish the race due to something that is very silly and very strange.

"It’s a pity, but anyway, if we want to take the positives out of it; he was fast in Qualifying, fast in the race and we are very proud. So, let’s hope we can fix that situation and understand where it’s coming from."

Team-mate Philipp Oettl finished in 20th place.