Alex Rins may miss the 2020 MotoGP season opener at Jerez tomorrow after suffering a dislocated shoulder in qualifying on Saturday afternoon, the Spaniard being declared unfit to race.
The Suzuki man crashed heavily at the fast Turn 11 right-hander on his final qualifying lap in Q2, shooting off into the gravel and barrel rolling several times along with his GSX-RR.
He was taken to the medical centre soon after the crash and was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder, ruling him out of any further action this weekend.
Jack Miller also went down at the same turn just seconds before Rins arrived at the scene, the Aussie racer finding more luck than Rins as he walked away without injury.
The extremely hot conditions are the most likely culprit for the multitude of crashes in the final part of qualifying, the Jerez tarmac becoming more slippery as the heat increased from the FP3 session held on Saturday morning.
Andrea Dovizioso also crashed on his final qualifying effort, although the Ducati man instead tucked the front of his GP20 at the slow Turn 2 hairpin.
He like Miller escaped without injury; particularly reliving for the Italian given he underwent surgery for his broken collarbone only a couple of weeks ago and continues to recover.
Rins’ side-lining means Suzuki team-mate Joan Mir will be the Japanese manufacturers sole representative in tomorrow’s Spanish GP, the ’18 Moto3 world champion managing a rather disappointing 12th on the grid following his strong practice speed in which he frequented the top three.
UPDATE: Rins underwent further tests at the local Clinica Mobile hospital and has been diagnosed with a fracture, dislocation and muscle damage in his right shoulder.
Suzuki have released a statement outlining their intentions to try and allow Rins to compete in the Spanish GP tomorrow morning, but any participation will be decided after being assessed by MotoGP doctors ahead of the contest.
