A serious crash for Àlex Márquez marks the Catalunya Grand Prix

BarcelonaA serious fall by Àlex Márquez has marked an accident-plagued Catalan Grand Prix, won by Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio. The rider from Cervera, who was conscious, was evacuated by ambulance to the Hospital General de Catalunya (Sant Cugat), where a fracture in his right collarbone and C7 vertebra was detected, as communicated by his Gresini Racing team. He will undergo surgery this Sunday.

It was lap 12 when the Catalan was battling with Pedro Acosta for the lead. The Murcian lost a lot of speed due to a problem with his bike, and Álex couldn't do anything to avoid the collision. The Catalan lost control of the bike, ended up off the track before flying through the air, and left the track littered with debris from his bike, with spectators shocked by the heavy impact.

The red flag was automatically shown and the race restarted with thirteen laps to go. Fabio Di Giannantonio also crashed due to an impact with a piece on the track, but the Italian – with some discomfort in his hand – ended up winning the Grand Prix. The Catalan Maverick Viñales had to tow Pedro Acosta – the leader at the time – to the pit lane because he had a rear tire puncture.

Without Marc Márquez, still recovering from the injury he sustained at Le Mans and which required surgery, nor Àlex Márquez, the big winner of Sunday has been Di Giannantonio. The Italian rider –who was in fourth position at the time of the first red flag– overtook Pedro Acosta in the final laps to reach the top of the podium. The rider from Murcia crashed just before the finish line after a collision with Ai Ogura. Joan Mir finished second and Fermín Aldeguer, third.

The race had started with Acosta holding first position after several incidents during the race, first with Raúl Fernández and then with Àlex Márquez, Jorge Martín and Joan Mir, but he could not resist Di Giannantonio. The rider from Cervera, who started third, had a good fight with Raúl Fernández, in which Johann Zarco entered and caused Àlex to fall to fifth position.

From here, the comeback of the Catalan rider began, who, with patience but with consistency, climbed positions until overtaking Raúl Fernández on the finish straight by speed. Once he had positioned himself in second place, only Acosta was left ahead. After unsuccessfully trying to overtake the rider from Murcia by speed, Àlex Márquez had the major accident that forced him to be evacuated by ambulance to the hospital.

Second red flag

The race resumed with thirteen laps to go, but in the first few corners a new crash –this time involving Luca Marini, Johann Zarco (who had to go to the medical center for a fractured femur) and Pecco Bagnaia– caused a second red flag. The race had to be stopped again. And there was still time for another crash, now involving Jorge Martín and Raúl Fernández, although both riders were able to finish the race. However, Martín lost the opportunity to take the lead in the standings after a bad day for Marco Bezzecchi, who despite finishing sixth, will continue in the top position overall.