Franco Morbidelli: “Nothing really matters” after Moto3 incident
Franco Morbidelli’s fourth place in the Malaysian MotoGP was overshadowed by concern for injured Moto3 riders Jose Antonio Rueda and Noah Dettwiler.
Franco Morbidelli’s best MotoGP finish since Misano was overshadowed by concern for injured Moto3 riders Jose Antonio Rueda and Noah Dettwiler at Sepang.
The VR46 Ducati rider claimed fourth place in Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, narrowly missing his first podium since Qatar.
But his focus was elsewhere after Rueda and Dettwiler were involved in a frightening collision on the Moto3 sighting lap, which saw both riders airlifted to hospital.
“A solid race after a difficult weekend in Australia, but now my main worry is on the two guys that had an accident early in the day,” Morbidelli said.
“I'm really worried about what's going on. Hopefully, everything is okay, or as okay as possible.”
Morbidelli admitted that the incident made it difficult to concentrate ahead of his own race, where he slipped from third to sixth early on before fighting back to within 0.6s of Joan Mir.
“Nothing really matters compared to what these guys are going through at the moment. We should all wait and hope for the best,” he said.
An official update subsequently confirmed that Rueda, who struck the back of Dettwiler’s bike at high speed, “is awake and alert, with a suspected hand fracture and a number of contusions.”
“And Noah? No news yet,” added Morbidelli. “Jose is well, so I'm happy. Let's wait for some news on Noah.”
Dettwiler’s CIP team later confirmed that the 20-year-old remains in a serious condition and “will need to undergo multiple surgeries.”
Morbidelli’s team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio echoed his concern after finishing sixth in the Grand Prix.
“I really wish that the Moto3 guys are OK,” said di Giannantonio. “These things in our sport should never happen, and it's always a tough one.
“My prayers and my thoughts and hopes are with them now.”
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