Pol Espargaro out of ICU and walking after violent Portugal MotoGP crash

The Spaniard was flicked from his Tech3 GASGAS in the closing stages of FP2 at the Algarve International Circuit’s Turn 10 last Friday.

He sickeningly hit a tyre barrier that was not protected by an air fence and suffered fractures to his jaw and back, as well as trauma to his lungs.

Espargaro was airlifted to hospital in Faro that Friday before being transferred to Barcelona, where he underwent surgery on his jaw fracture.

Speaking during the world feed broadcast of this morning’s Argentina Grand Prix FP1 session, Tech3 boss Poncharal offered a positive update on Espargaro’s condition.

“I’ve got very good news, because clearly Pol is so full of life and so willing to come back that he was feeling a bit down the past few days being alone in an intensive care room without the possibility to get out of bed,” Poncharal began.

“And when you know him, it must be painful. The good news is he’s been transferred to a normal room, with no more intensive care, and he got up and he did a few walk [steps].

“He’s feeling good and he sent to all of us an incredibly full of dedication message, with a lot of heart, [saying] ‘I’m going to try to do everything I can to be there as soon as possible’.

“Also, he was happy Jonas Folger is replacing him because he likes him, and he thinks it’s the best opportunity.

“So, last night we were worried about Pol’s morale, and today is a completely new day and a new Pol.

“So, we don’t want to talk about how long he will be out of action, because we know riders sometimes surprise us.

“For sure it will be a while, many races, but I’m sure doctors will be surprised to see him coming back sooner than what they are predicting at the moment.”

Hervé Poncharal, KTM Tech3

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Poncharal added that the biggest hurdle for Espargaro right now is the vertebrae fracture, which will take time to heal.

“He had a nasty fracture on the jaw,” Poncharal added.

“This is painful because it’s been operated on, but he can’t talk and he has got to eat with a straw.

“But this is nothing really serious and this is just a painful moment to go through and it’s not going to last long.

“The main problem is the back, so to reassure everyone he’s going to be back moving, walking, running and be in a position to ride a MotoGP very soon we hope.

“But it takes time to heal the vertebrae. He’s in a corset at the moment, he can’t move, and this is going to take long. This is the worst part of the injury.”