Saturday morning got off to a really bad start for Alvaro who crashed heavily in turn 3 and had to be carried away on a stretcher. He was shown waving to the camera and moving around when he was rolled into the Clinica Mobile, but as of now it is not clear if or how heavily he is injured and if he can continue the weekend.
There’s still been no replay of the crash itself, but it’s been the first flying lap for Alvaro after his outlap which would suggest an issue with cold tyres.
The temperatures at Brno are considerably colder this morning than they were for the first practice yesterday and heavy fog delayed the start of all practices today. Alvaro had been in the box for a while and just came back on track when the crash happend.
He was only shown lying in the gravel afterwards and stretchered away. He was wearing a neck brace on the way to the Clinica Mobile, but that might have been only a precautionary measure.
As soon as news emerge we will keep you updated.
UPDATE1: First sources from the Clinica on Twitter suggest Bati might have taken a hard hit on his back and some bruising, but no serious injury. But the medical helicopter is on standby, just in case. Here’s hoping.
UPDATE2: As suspected, Alvaro is now being taken to the Brno hospital for further checkups and X-rays. We keep our fingers crossed that the results will be positive. It is possible that Alvaro will miss the qualifying, but in case he’s fit to ride and gets the green light from the medical team, race direction should allow him to start the race tomorrow.
UPDATE3: It seems confirmed now that Alvaro will miss the rest of the weekend at Brno. Even though there’s been no official confirmation of the extend of his injuries by now, he has a suspected trauma of the first lumbar vertebra. He is currently undergoing further CT scans. An official announcement should follow soon.
