Pol Espargaro breaks collarbone at Brno
Pol Espargaro will miss Sunday's Czech Republic MotoGP race, Monday's official test and probably KTM's home round in Austria next weekend after fracturing his collarbone in a warm-up fall.
The cause of the Spaniard's Turn 3 accident is still to be officially confirmed.
UPDATE: KTM say there was no technical issue, Espargaro's rear-wheel went into the air under braking, then the bike got out of shape, sending him straight as he tried to recover it.
Pol Espargaro will miss Sunday's Czech Republic MotoGP race, Monday's official test and probably KTM's home round in Austria next weekend after fracturing his collarbone in a warm-up fall.
The cause of the Spaniard's Turn 3 accident is still to be officially confirmed.
UPDATE: KTM say there was no technical issue, Espargaro's rear-wheel went into the air under braking, then the bike got out of shape, sending him straight as he tried to recover it.
Strange accident that left Pol Espargaro with a broken collarbone - he sat the bike up and ran straight before falling heavily. KTM yet to confirm if a tech issue.
— CRASH.NET/MotoGP (@crash_motogp) August 5, 2018
►https://t.co/kNZwqR5xV5
#CzechGP #MotoGP race pic.twitter.com/K29m9R3P2L
Espargaro, who had qualified 19th, has been transferred to hospital and could well undergo surgery to speed-up his recovery.
With Espargaro joining test and wild-card rider Mika Kallio (knee damage at Sachsenring) on the injury list, Bradley Smith will be the only RC16 competitor on the grid at Brno and, potentially, the Red Bull Ring.
Espargaro is currently 14th in the world championship, with Smith in 19th but with a better race result (tenth).
Smith is leaving the team at the end of the season, having been replaced by Johann Zarco for 2019.
