Nakagami withdrawn from Czech GP following injury

The LCR team has announced that replacement rider Takaaki Nakagami will not be taking part in the remainder of the Czech GP weekend due an injury sustained during his incident with Augusto Fernandez.

The Japanese rider was involved in a collision with Fernandez on lap two of the Czech GP sprint race, where Fernandez appeared to outbrake himself and slid into Nakagami. While initially Nakagami appeared to be in stable condition, he has been diagnosed with a posterior cruciate ligament tear in his right knee.

An MRI scan will be performed to confirm the extent of the injury at a later date. In the coming days, Nakagami and the LCR team will determine the next steps in terms of the Japanese driver’s treatment and recovery.

Nakagami’s comment after the incident: “During the very beginning of the sprint race at Turn 3, unfortunately Augusto [Fernandez] hit me at the apex and I had a big impact and crash.

“That first impact I had the damaged my right knee but after that I felt quite okay, I don’t feel pain but then after half an hour I felt like a really strange feeling in my right knee and then I went to the medical centre. They checked the mobility and then they found I had the [ligament] injury.

“Unfortunately, I am unfit for tomorrow’s race. I have decided to go back to Japan as soon as possible to check with the doctor and do an MRI, then let’s see. Hopefully it’s not a big injury but at the moment the doctor said I need to go back to Japan to check [the injury] deeper. I’ll keep you updated for the future.”