Fabio Quartararo is suffering from a sprained left elbow and possible broken foot following his crash at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday in Assen, and will likely require surgery. “I think I have to have surgery this week. We will see after new exams, ”said the Frenchman in the press room before going to apologize to Johann Zarco, whom he dragged down in his fall.
The collision took place in the third round of the Grand Prix won by the Italian Francesco Bagnaia. Coming out of the sequence of turns 7 and 8, the Yamaha rider lost control of the front of his bike, starting to slide and dragging his compatriot down with him.
If Zarco (Ducati) got up immediately, Quartararo (Yamaha) had to be helped by the marshals, who supported him to leave the circuit. He was taken to the medical center. “I pushed a little hard to make up for my mistake at the start. It’s my fault, I did anything,” admitted “El Diablo”. “It’s annoying because this weekend I was very fast,” lamented the 2021 world champion, who will want to be on his feet for the resumption of the season on August 6 at Silverstone (Great Britain).
Zarco said he didn’t suffer from “any big boo”. “When I was trying to overtake Fabio between (turn) 7 and 8, I accelerated again to project well at the entrance to 8. He fell and as I was already on his wheel, he carried me away” , he said. At the time of the fall, the two men occupied the 12th and 13th positions in the race. Quartararo had completely missed his start, going from 4th to 12th position in less than half a lap. On Saturday, he had taken 3rd place in the sprint race, Zarco failing in 13th position.
For the latter, the retirement in Assen is a setback after three consecutive podiums. “Since Friday, I was in a mess, I dragged this galley over the rest of the weekend,” regretted the Cannes. “Holidays are going to be good. There is not much missing to play for the win”, he concluded by affirming “want to continue with Pramac (Ducati) next season”.
