Smith gets grid penalty for Espargaro crash in Barcelona MotoGP race

Smith was making his third of five scheduled wildcard appearances on the RS-GP in 2019 this weekend at Barcelona, and was following Espargaro at the start when he crashed into him at Turn 10.

As a result of the crash Smith was out on the spot, while Espargaro trundled back to pitlane before being he had to be helped off his bike due to a suspected knee injury.

Checks at the circuit revealed no fractures for Espargaro, but he has been taken to hospital in Barcelona for further assessment on suspected ligament damage in his left knee.

Smith's three-place grid drop could come at his next scheduled appearance, which is the Czech Grand Prix in August, although he will likely be called up to replace Espargaro at Assen should Espargaro be declared unfit.

"I'm sorry about what happened today, even more so because Aleix was involved," said Smith.

"Unfortunately, in that braking section the situation was a bit chaotic, as often happens during the first laps.

"I hope he will have a quick recovery. Right now, we need to work with our full potential to develop the RS-GP."

Tech3 rider Miguel Oliveira was following the Aprilias when the accident occurred, and reckoned Smith was "completely out of the normal line" on the way into the corner.

"Yeah, the situation was simple," said Oliveira, who finished 12th.

"I was basically mid-track and behind Aleix, and I defended my line to the inside, but at the same time I saw that Bradley was coming completely out of the normal line - very close to the left.

"Obviously I knew he was going to hit someone, so I had to avoid all that and I couldn't cut the track because I was really on the outside of Aleix when I braked."