Fabio Quartararo Italian MotoGP update issued after post-practice hospital visit

Fabio Quartararo has been described as “fine” after a hospital trip after Practice at the Italian MotoGP.

Quartararo went to hospital in Florence following what was described as a “partial dislocation” of his left shoulder in Practice on Friday afternoon.

The Monster Energy Yamaha rider crashed in the opening 15 minutes of the session, but was later able to get back out on-track and finish the session fifth-fastest, meaning he is seeded through to Q2 on Saturday morning, despite having to have his shoulder put back in-place while lying in the gravel trap after his crash.

Yamaha confirmed that the tests Quartararo underwent in hospital raised no concerns, describing him as “fine” in a statement on Friday evening.

“Following undergoing further medical checks in Florence, all of Fabio’s [Quartararo] test results are fine,” a statement published on the Monster Energy Yamaha team’s X (formerly Twitter) account reads.

“He is all good and on his way back to the circuit, so good news!”

"He is a tough guy"

Later, Quartararo said: "I'm pretty happy to be in Q2 after today's crash. The crash itself was pretty small, but I had pain in my shoulder, which made it more difficult. 

"The feeling with the front was not so great when I was doing my time attack, but we still managed to hit our target of getting into Q2. 

"After the session, I went to get a medical check-up, and I'm allowed to ride tomorrow."

Team director Massimo Meregalli hailed Quartararo as a 'tough guy' for continuing the session.

"Fabio suffered a nasty crash and partially dislocated his shoulder, but without any damage. He is a tough guy, and he really likes Mugello, so he was determined to continue. 

"We want to thank the marshals and the medical staff who assisted him in doing so. The laps he produced despite the pain were exceptional. After the session, I went with Fabio for an additional medical check, and the results were positive."

Fabio Quartararo was joined in the practice top-10 by his factory Yamaha teammate, Alex Rins, who was seventh-fastest in Practice at Mugello.

"It was a positive day. I'm super happy with the work the team and I did because, besides going directly into Q2, we did a good job," said Rins. 

"I struggled on the bike this morning, it was not easy. But I talked with the team, checking what we could do to have a better pace and a better feeling this afternoon. 

"Let's see if tomorrow we can do another step, but today we worked quite hard, and thanks to this I went directly into Q2, that's key."

Practice was topped by KTM’s Maverick Vinales, while Honda was the only manufacturer to miss out on a top-10 spot entirely on Friday afternoon.