Alex Marquez will leave hospital on Monday afternoon after undergoing successful surgery on his clavicle fracture, following his terrifying crash at the MotoGP race in Barcelona on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Spanish rider, brother of legendary seven-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, went airborne as his bike flipped over on the gravel, cartwheeling through the air as he lost control after slamming into the back of Pedro Acosta’s KTM bike, which suddenly lost power.
Marquez was rushed to hospital, where scans confirmed he had a marginal fracture on the vertebrae near his neck, as well as a fracture on his right collarbone. On Monday morning, his Gresini Racing team provided a reassuring update.
A statement read: “Alex Marquez successfully underwent surgery last night for a fracture of his right clavicle, which was stabilised with the insertion of a plate, by Anna Carreras, David Benito, and Paula Barragán at Hospital General de Catalunya.
“He will leave the hospital later this afternoon.”
On Sunday night, Marquez himself smiled from his hospital bed as he posted on Instagram saying: “Everything’s under control. I’m due to go into the operating theatre tonight, but I couldn’t be in better hands.
“Thank you all so much for your concern and for the kind messages I’ve been receiving.”
The Spaniard’s crash was one of two scary incidents at the Catalan Grand Prix, which was red-flagged twice.
At the first restart, French rider Johann Zarco snapped his fibula after a three-rider pile-up on turn one of the first lap. He said on Instagram: “Don’t worry, we’re still waiting for the test results. I’ve got a neck brace on, but it’s more of a nuisance than anything else.
“It’s mainly the knee, the ligaments have snapped. But the femur isn’t broken. There’s a small fracture at the bottom of the fibula, on the outside of my left ankle. So there you go, I’ll keep you posted. Just to put your minds at rest, really.
“More of a scare than anything… I’m staying in hospital tonight because they want to keep an eye on me.”
Many riders were unimpressed that the race restarted after two serious incidents. The 2024 MotoGP champion Jorge Martin said: “Three restarts are very dangerous. It was not necessary to make a third restart today.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
