Fabio Quartararo is set to undergo corrective surgery following the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix to fix the fractured finger he sustained in the Malaysian GP last weekend.
The reigning MotoGP world champion crashed his Yamaha in the fourth practice session just ahead of qualifying on Saturday at the Sepang International Circuit, a spill that saw him sustain a significant impact on the tarmac with his left hand – thus causing a fracture in his middle finger on the affected hand.
He is set to undergo a procedure to fix his fractured digit ahead of 2023 according to Sky Sports Italia, with Yamaha having confirmed the news to the broadcaster.
The Frenchman managed to ride through the pain barrier on Sunday to recover from 12th on the grid to close out the podium finishers in third, and is set to complete the campaign curtain-closing Valencia GP with the injury as he looks to try and keep hold of his title – though with a 23 point deficit to recover with only 25 to play for, his quest looks tough.
Mir to try and rectify arm pump woes
Joan Mir meanwhile is set to join fellow premier class world champion Quartararo in going under the knife following the Valencia GP, the Spaniard having suffered with a severe bout of arm pump in the closing stages of the Malaysian GP.
The Suzuki rider was running well inside the top six in the early laps of the encounter, though after his arm pump set in he quickly plummeted down the field to an eventual finishing position of 19th.
Mir says he is looking at undergoing the routine procedure to make sure he staves away any other issues in 2023, where he will join Marc Marquez at the factory Honda outfit.
“I think that it can be a good option,” said Mir of potentially undergoing arm pump corrective surgery.
“Honestly, if you put everything together, and we think about why we had this problem, we changed a front lever at the beginning of the weekend, because I suggested it.
“Normally, during the season I do a lot of motocross, dirt track, I am able to train with a lot of bikes. In previous months, I wasn’t able to train even with the motorbike, this for sure maybe create a bit the problem.”