KTM to decide on Sunday morning if Smith will race at Catalunya
A decision on whether KTM rider Bradley Smith will contest the Catalunya Grand Prix after injuring a finger on his left hand will be made on Sunday morning
The Briton crashed in a highside at Barcelona's Turn 2 during the fourth practice session that precedes qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
Smith walked away nursing his left hand, with his little finger thought to have been caught up in the handlebar of his RC16.
After a visit to the trackside clinica mobile, Smith was taken to hospital in Barcelona to have the wound cleaned and assessed by MotoGP surgeon Dr. Xavier Mir.
Keen to race, Smith tweeted that his condition will be reviewed at 8am local time on Sunday, with a decision to then be made.
"His left hand was trapped on the [handle]bar, he doesn't remember exactly what happened, but he has a damaged pinky finger on his left hand anyway and he's re-damaged that finger," Smith's crew chief Tom Jojic said.
"In the medical centre they cleaned it, and had a quick look and x-ray - he's alright and they want to clean it properly.
"So they've asked him to come to the hospital and they're going to clean it and then decide what the best course of action is from there."
While with Tech3 Yamaha, Smith was sidelined for three events last year due to a knee injury sustained in an accident in the Oschersleben Endurance World Championship event.
Smith's KTM team-mate Pol Espargaro qualified 20th for the eighth race of the Austrian manufacturer's maiden MotoGP campaign.
KTM will stay at Barcelona to test on Monday in the post-race session, and then for two days of private running on Tuesday and Wednesday.
GUINTOLI EXPECTS TO RACE
Standing in for injured Suzuki rookie Alex Rins, Sylvain Guintoli also sat out qualifying on Saturday, after the team said an "adverse reaction to a standard medication made him weak".
The French rider, though, believes he will be able to line up on Sunday, before Rins returns in testing this week.
"It's a pity that I wasn't able to take part in the qualifying, as we made solid improvements in the sessions and I felt positive of a good performance," he said.
"I went for a painkiller treatment to my arm, right before the FP4, which is a procedure I have done times in the past, but unfortunately something went wrong and had an unexpected reaction to the medication.
"This caused me to feel very dizzy and together with the team we decided not run in qualifying.
"I'm now already recovering and I hope I will be OK for tomorrow."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
Suzuki didn't see its tough start to 2017 MotoGP season coming
Miller sick of Honda MotoGP bike's continued acceleration deficit
The winners and losers of MotoGP's reshuffle
Aprilia boss: Smith a "valid option" for MotoGP race seat in 2021
Savadori replaces Smith in Aprilia MotoGP line-up for final three rounds
Electronics let down "heartbroken" Smith in MotoGP French GP
What we learned from Friday practice at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix
Rossi to drive BMW LMDh car in Bahrain WEC rookie test
Morbidelli lost memory for two weeks after pre-season MotoGP crash
Why Marquez thinks double Misano win will be a long shot despite gaps shrinking
Can anyone stop "changed" Bagnaia as Ducati tightens its grip on MotoGP?
The signs that MotoGP's Japanese powerhouses are changing for the better
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
