Just nine laps into MotoGP’s action-packed Austrian Grand Prix, a massive Turn 3 crash took out riders Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli. Both riders were conscious and able to walk away of their own accord.
Zarco and Morbidelli appear to have touched coming into turn 4, with both riders running off. Morbidelli was thrown from his bike and somersaulted through the gravel. Both crashed bikes flew back onto the track, narrowly missing the Yamaha riders.
The video is available here. There is also a view of Valentino Rossi narrowly missing the airborne bike here.
Zarco was examined at the trackside medical center and was deemed fit. Morbidelli’s team confirmed that his head, right shoulder, and right hand took the brunt of the crash but that he did not lose consciousness. A CT scan showed no major problems. He has been admitted to a local hospital for “minor treatments.”
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It’s the second major crash of the weekend, with Moto2 championship leader Enea Bastianini crashing on lap four of the series’s race. Fellow rider Hafizh Syahrin then drove into the wayward bike. Thankfully, he only suffered some bruising. Two other riders were unable to take the restart after being struck by debris. That video is available here.
Andrea Dovizioso rode to the win after it was announced yesterday that he would not be returning to Ducati for 2021.