Enea Bastianini has been diagnosed with a fractured right shoulder following his sprint race clash with VR46 rider Luca Marini, likely forcing him to miss Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix.
The factory Ducati ace battled towards the front of the field in the opening laps of the maiden MotoGP sprint race at the Algarve International Circuit, with a fast start initially seeing him moving forward from fifth on the grid to second.
Team-mate Francesco Bagnaia and Pramac Ducati man Jorge Martin soon relegated him back to fourth though, where he then came under attack from Marini at Turn 5 on the second tour.
Marini carried a little too much momentum into the bend though and lost the front of his Desmosedici, collecting Bastianini in the process and causing him to impact the tarmac heavily on his right shoulder.
Having swiftly been transferred to the circuit medical centre he was diagnosed with a fracture in his right shoulder, an injury that will more than likely force him to skip the Portuguese GP as well as possibly next weekend’s Argentinean GP, though he has since travelled to the local Portimao hospital for further checks according to a statement put out by Ducati following the conclusion of the sprint contest.
Francesco Bagnaia – who ended securing victory in premier classes first sprint encounter – will compete solo for the factory squad in Sunday’s main event, while Bastianini’s place in Argentina would most likely be taken by Ducati test rider Michele Pirro should he be ruled unfit once again.
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