Cal Crutchlow was forced to miss part of the second and final MotoGP World Championship test in Qatar after a crash turn Turn 2 left him with a haematoma on his arm.
The Briton had completed only 27 laps when he dropped his LCR Honda at Turn 2 and developed significant swelling on his right arm, which in turn prevented him from being able to move his fingers.
Taken to the medical centre, Crutchlow was forced to sit out the remainder of the second day and could be a risk for the third and final day of testing on Monday.
“After 27 laps today, unfortunately I crashed at turn two and have a haematoma on my right forearm and abrasions to both arms. As such, we decided to stop the test today because I’m in a fair amount of pain. At the time I was unable to move my fingers because the swelling was so significant straight away.
“Since then we’ve been mainly trying to reduce the swelling in the right forearm and stop it from getting worse. Hopefully with some rest we can see if we are able to participate in the final day of testing tomorrow.
The injury compounded what has been a tough test for Honda so far with all riders on the 2020 RC213V well off the pace on Sunday. Indeed, Marc Marquez could only manage the 14th best time, with Alex Marquez down in 19th and Crutchlow slipping to 21st.
By contrast, Takaaki Nakagami – who is returning from a similar shoulder injury to Marquez – was tenth best on the year-old Honda.
“Before the incident, we had been working hard to improve the setting of the bike and my feeling with it compared to Saturday,” said Crutchlow.
“We didn’t really get a chance to finish that work, so hopefully I will be able to ride tomorrow because there are some things we know we can do to improve the feeling, and with it our lap time ahead of the first race.”
