In the days following the Portuguese Grand Prix, Marc Marquez’s penalty dominated the headlines. But on the opening weekend, a serious accident had already occurred in the second Friday practice session. Pol Espargaro hit the barrier after a fall.
He sustained a contused lung, a fractured jaw and a fractured vertebra. The Tech 3 GasGas team rider was taken to Barcelona for further treatment after a first night in a hospital in Faro.
His recovery time is estimated at one and a half to two months. Of course, Aleix Espargaro was also worried about his younger brother. After the Portimao race weekend, he visited Pol in the hospital in Barcelona.
“Pol is doing better,” reports Aleix Espargaro on Thursday before the second Grand Prix in Argentina. The oldest MotoGP driver in the field also emphasizes: “We were very lucky! It was a serious accident.”
“I’ve talked to him and the doctors a lot these days. I think he was very lucky. It’s hard to imagine the hit on his head. Pol could be a lot worse.”
“He was very lucky”
“The speed and impact was insane. His jaw is completely broken – from his mouth to his ears. He couldn’t hear anything because his jaw was pressing on his ear. Even with one of the best helmets he wears, you can hard to imagine.”
“He was very lucky. The gravel bed wasn’t good at all. After four years of pushing, something finally happened. There was no airfence there either. It’s totally unacceptable for a driver to hit the barriers like that!”
According to previous information, Pol Espargaro will make a full recovery from his injuries. This will need time. Was this accident a reason for something to change in the future with regard to safety and the technical disarmament of motorcycles?
“It’s not in my hands but I hope so,” said Aleix Espargaro. “I repeat, we were very lucky. You can only imagine how bad the impact was. It’s unacceptable! Hopefully we’ll learn from this. Hopefully Pol will be able to race with us again soon.”