Marc Marquez explains how he rushed to help “unconscious” Franco Morbidelli
Franco Morbidelli was hospitalised but thanked Marc Marquez for helping him after a crash
Marc Marquez has shared scary details about Franco Morbidelli’s crash in Portimao.
Morbidelli crashed his Ducati on a testing day earlier this week, an incident which was not televised, but which left him hospitalised.
Marc and Alex Marquez were the first on the scene to aid the fallen rider.
“Me and Alex helped Franco,” Marc said at a Gresini event in Jakarta.
“We are opponents, but at the same time, we are mates.
“We were testing in Portimao, we saw a red flag, we were the first to arrive between Turn 8 and 9.
“We saw that Franco was unconscious on the run-off area.
“He was, a little bit, in a strange position with his head up.
“Me and Alex, we stopped straight away. We left the bikes on the floor and ran to Franco to put him [in a lateral position].
“Because when you are unconscious, you are looking to the [sky], it is dangerous because you cannot breathe well.
“We put him laterally. We opened his leather suit and opened his helmet.
“We waited for the medical staff. When the medical staff arrived, we just went back to the box.
“We are opponents, but at the same time mates. We want the best for our opponents.”
Marquez and Morbidelli had clashed towards the end of the 2023 MotoGP season, when the then-Honda rider angered the then-Yamaha rider by towing.
But this week after his crash, Morbidelli had thanked Marquez via social media.
“Thankyou for all the messages,” Morbidelli wrote.
“Thanks to the stewards’ aid I have been able to go through this big hit without any problem!
“And also, thanks to Marc Marquez [for his] aid on track. Thank you, man!”
Morbidelli, who has joined Pramac Ducati this season, needed two CT scans which ruled out any serious injuries after his crash.
He spent a night in hospital and is now back home.
But it remains to be seen whether he will be fit enough to test in Sepang, which is due to begin on Tuesday February 6.
