The Australian Jack Miller (KTM) signed this Friday the best time of the day after the two free practice sessions of the Portuguese Grand Prix, first round of the 2023 MotoGP season, while the defending champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) was third.
The second session was marked by an impressive fall by Pol Espargaró less than a quarter of an hour from the end. The 31-year-old Spaniard lost control of his bike at high speed and ended up against a wall of tires at the Portimao circuit.
The fall that scared everyone and not at all positive news: Pol Espargaró suffered a lung contusion, jaw fracture and a fracture of the dorsal vertebra in practice at the #PortugueseGP. Rough start to the World Cup.
📺 The season of #MotoGPby #StarPlusLA pic.twitter.com/wSzOx3xM2x
– SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) March 24, 2023
Pol Espargaró’s diagnosis after the accident
The GasGas-Tech 3 pilot, quickly treated by the medical services, “He suffers a dorsal and thoracic trauma,” announced Dorna, promoter of the championship. He was evacuated from the place by the firefighters while being “conscious” and “has been transferred to the Faro hospital for additional medical tests,” he added.
Aleix Espargaró, Pol’s brother, who finished in ninth place, expressed his concern about the sharp fall and due to the fact that in that area of the circuit and in many others on the Portuguese track there were no “air defenses” to protect the riders in their falls.
“I can’t explain it to myself, I’m not the one who has to give this explanation, but with these bikes you go very fast and there should be ‘airfence’ everywhere. You can’t make the biggest circuits, because they are what they are, but the Pol’s fall in turn 10 you hit the wall because you come from turn 9, which is a very fast downhill turn,” explains Espargaró, who indicates that he does it “with the limiter in fourth gear, because, with so much aerodynamic load With so many wings, you fly in the center of the curve with these bikes.”
“The circuits, from straight to straight, fall short and the maximum speed is always the same because with so much downforce you don’t go over 350 or 360 km/h, but the problem is that we reach 280 or 300 km/h. in barely 400 meters straight, which means there has to be ‘airfence’ everywhere”, insists the Aprilia rider.
Regarding the serious accident of his brother Pol, he points out that “in the end, unfortunately, it is something that you end up getting used to because I have shared life or work, call it what you want, with Pol for many years and it is not the first time that it has happened , so it’s hard and complicated, but it always is when a teammate falls and the ambulance shows up and they put up the tarpaulins”.
“And if it’s your brother, it’s even more complicated, but it’s our job and you have to be professional even if it costs a lot sometimes,” he admits sadly after confirming that he had not been able to speak with him.
“I went running at the end of the session and I was already in the helicopter. I did see Ángel Charte and I thank him again for being here. That freaks me out because of how he takes care of the pilots and the tranquility he transmits to you. He told me that he had not been intubated and that this was a good sign, because it was not so, so serious, but that my brother complained of a lot, a lot of pain and Pol is a very strong guy, much more than me in this sense”, comments Alex.
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