DOVI DISASTER
Italian airlifted to hospital after dramatic first corner crash
This is the moment Andrea Dovizioso’s 2019 MotoGP title hopes went up in flames less than 20 seconds into Sunday’s British Grand Prix. The Italian’s Ducati launched off the ‘ramp’ of Fabio Quartararo’s stricken Yamaha YZR-M1 on the exit of Copse after the French rookie high-sided behind eventual race winner, Alex Rins. Dovizioso’s Ducati GP19 erupted into a fireball in an incident that effectively ended his slender hopes of overhauling Marc Marquez either in the race or in the chase to the 2019 world championship. Dazed and dizzy after the crash, Dovizioso was then airlifted to hospital in Coventry for a precautionary CT scan after suffering from severe concussion. But what surely hurt the Italian as much as any physical pain was the knowledge that he now needs a miracle to reel-in runaway series
leader Marquez, who extended his points lead to a commanding 78 with just seven races remaining. Ducati team boss Davide Tardozzi said: “He had a big hit on the head and a concussion and he lost his memory for a while. In that case it’s best to have a scan but he was fine. He also took a very big hit on his right hip but there are no broken bones.” Speaking to the Italian media, he added: “He was very angry because he was involved in an incident he had nothing to do with. But these things happen. Quartararo fell and nobody is pointing the finger at him. Andrea was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Quartararo’s early exit ended a great weekend in which he seemed certain to fight for a fourth podium of the season after setting the fastest time in FP1, FP2, FP3 and the pre-race warm-up session. The French rookie claimed his involvement in the carnage was instigated by a near high-side by Rins just metres ahead of him. The Petronas Yamaha SRT rider, who was given a clean bill of health after also undergoing hospital checks in Coventry, said: “I was able to get past Jack and I was behind Rins when he opened the throttle and lost the rear. I didn’t want to run into him so I shut the throttle too aggressively and then I had a highside. I was already sideways on the throttle so when I shut the throttle I crashed. We won’t know if I had he pace to win but I was feeling really good all weekend and I was able to set a good pace on used tyres throughout practice.”
‘He now needs a miracle to reel-in leader Marquez’