MotoGP | Second CT scan for Morbidelli: it is not certain that he will be in Sepang

The new Prima Pramac rider carried out two days of testing on Monday and Tuesday as part of the private test organized by Ducati for the World SBK teams on the Portimao circuit. In addition to the riders of the bikes derived from the series, a good number of MotoGP riders were present on the Algarve track, especially from the Ducati orbit, riding the sports Panigale V4, including Franco Morbidelli, Pecco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi and the Alex brothers Marquez and Marc Marquez, who will race for Gresini in 2024.

During the last part of the second session on Tuesday, Morbidelli was the victim of a bad fall at turn 9. Since it was a private event organized by the Aruba team, stewards and medical personnel were present on the track, but not in the usual number of Grand Prizes.

After the accident, the Marquez brothers arrived at the scene, where the red flag had been displayed, stopped their motorbikes and helped evacuate Morbidelli from the track, after an ambulance had come to pick him up. The Pramac team in fact thanked the two Gresini riders on their social networks for their help.

After noting that the Italian was very shaken, the staff at the circuit's medical center decided to transfer the Italian rider to Faro hospital, where a CT scan revealed a small blood clot in his head and it was decided that Morbidelli would spent the night in hospital.

This morning, as reported by Motorsport.com, the doctors performed a second CT scan on Morbidelli to check the evolution of the clot. “Everything seems fine, we are waiting for the results of the second CT scan to confirm that he has no problems despite the big blow he received to the head. The impressions are positive, but they wanted to be sure,” sources within the team said.

For the moment the doctors have not yet discharged the patient, who is expected to remain in Faro for another day. “We'll see if you can leave the hospital tonight, but it's likely that you won't be able to return to Italy before tomorrow,” they added.

If Morbidelli were to return home tomorrow, February 1, he would have four days until February 5 to travel to Kuala Lumpur, which means two flights of six to seven hours each, for which he will have to receive medical authorization. “If they let him go home today or tomorrow, Franco will be able to be present at next week's tests, but that's something we can't confirm from the team,” the sources concluded.

After a year with Marc VDS' Honda (2018) and five with Yamaha (Petronas and official team), Morbidelli makes his debut this season on a factory Ducati in the colors of Prima Pramac Racing.