Martin taken to hospital after huge crash in Sepang MotoGP test

Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martín suffered a horror crash just two hours into the the Sepang MotoGP test on Wednesday, forcing medical services to take him to a nearby hospital.

At around ten minutes to twelve in Malaysia, the Spaniard was approaching the entrance to Sepang’s second corner, a tight left-hand turn, when his Aprilia RS-GP threw him out violently, sending him spinning in the air horizontally before crashing on to the tarmac. In the footage, it can be seen that he took a huge hit to the ground.

Martin was initially taken to the circuit’s medical centre, where he underwent initial checks. He remained conscious at all times, but complained of severe pain in his left foot and right hand.

After early examination, the doctors decided to move him by ambulance to the Aurelius hospital in Nilai, a town six kilometres from the circuit.

At the time of the accident, Martin had only completed five flying laps and was last on the timesheets.

Once the exact extent of any possible injuries is known, it will be possible to assess whether he will be able to return to the track in Sepang in the next two days.

In this respect it is worth bearing in mind that the MotoGP fraternity is scheduled to travel to Thailand from Friday for the championship’s launch event in Bangkok on Sunday.

The riders will then head to Buriram, where the pre-season will conclude with the final two days of testing (12 and 13 February).

The incident at Turn 2 was Martin’s second of the day. The former Pramac Ducati rider had already suffered a crash shorty after the start of the session, at Turn 1, but on that occassion he was able to return to the garage without any issues to jump on the second RS-GP.

Having won last season’s world champion, in which he became the first rider to win a premier class title with an independent team since the days of Valentino Rossi, Martín is now leading Aprilia’s factory programme in MotoGP.

He got his first taste of the RS-GP in Barcelona in November and the Sepang test was only his second outing with the bike.

Meanwhile, Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez had a crash of his own in the opening morning of the test.

A statement released from the team noted that “Raul has suffered a fractured metacarpal bone in his left hand. We are currently evaluating further treatment.”

Fernandez has since withdrawn from the test to fly to Barcelona, where Doctor Xavier Mir will perform a surgery on his broken left hand.

The other fracture, in the big toe of the left foot, is of much less concern.