Johann Zarco ‘more scared than hurt’ after Catalunya MotoGP crash

Johann Zarco says he is ‘more scared than hurt’ following his scary crash at Turn 1 during the twice red-flagged MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix.

The race was red-flagged on lap 12 of 24 for a terrifying collision involving Pedro Acosta, whose KTM encountered an issue, and Gresini’s Alex Marquez on the back straight between Turns 9 and 10.

Alex Marquez suffered several fractures and is due for surgery on Sunday evening.

On this restart, Johann Zarco collided with Luca Marini and Pecco Bagnaia at Turn 1 at the start, and got tangled up with the latter’s factory Ducati.

The LCR rider was taken to hospital for checks, and posted an updated in his native French as he awaited further tests.

“Don't worry, we're still waiting for the test results,” Zarco said.

“I'm wearing a neck brace, but it's more of a nuisance than anything else.

“It's mainly the knee; the ligaments have torn, but the femur isn't broken.

“There’s a small fracture at the bottom of the fibula, on the outside of my left ankle. I’ll keep you posted.

“Just to reassure you anyway: more scare than harm, let’s say.

“I’ll keep you posted. I’ll be staying at the hospital tonight because they want to keep me under observation, and then we’ll see.”

LCR has yet to provide any official comment on Zarco’s condition beyond what Lucio Cecchinello said immediately post-race to TNT Sport.

However, a spokesperson did move to quash rumours about Zarco’s injuries.

“Once again, all official information will come directly from the team,” LCR told the media.

“There were no open fractures, no bones exposed on the gravel, and none of the other things we’ve been hearing.

“Johann is still undergoing further checks. We will keep you posted!”

The incident at Turn 1 on Sunday has prompted calls for MotoGP to make changes to the approach to the corner to avoid similar happening in future.