Franco Morbidelli spent the night in the hospital following a nasty crash during WorldSBK pre-season testing at Portimao, his Prima Pramac Racing MotoGP team has disclosed.
Pramac Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli may not make it through the 2024 preseason testing after suffering a fall at the Portimao circuit that sent him to the hospital for examination.
The Italian was one of 11 current or past riders participating in the unofficial WorldSBK test at Portimao hosted by Ducati over the course of the last two days.
The test gave WorldSBK riders and teams an opportunity to get ready for the 2024 season, which will get underway in Australia in just over three weeks. However, anyone with a modified stock-spec sportsbike was welcome to use the circuit.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that Morbidelli had crashed while riding his Ducati V4S and was taken to the circuit’s medical center for assessment.
However, the 29-year-old’s condition was upgraded later in the day when his Pramac Racing team confirmed that he would spend the night in the Faro hospital for evaluation.
“After a bad crash Franco was promptly taken to the hospital for further examinations,” the team said in a statement. “Initial tests have provided encouraging indications about his current condition, he will spend the night at Faro Hospital for precautionary and safety reasons.”
The incident which happened at Turn 9 in Portimao triggered red flags for the Wednesday afternoon’s session. And since there were not as many marshals on the track, Gresini Racing brothers Marc and Alex assisted Morbidelli following the crash.
The timing of the news is terrible for Morbidelli since he will be participating in his first full Ducati test next week after the only previous weather-affected testing day at Valencia in November.
