Cal Crutchlow forced to withdraw from Spanish GP after Warm-Up crash

Cal Crutchlow was forced to sit out the opening race of the delayed 2020 MotoGP World Championship in Spain, after he was declared unfit by MotoGP’s Chief Medical Officer.

The LCR Honda CASTROL rider suffered a heavy spill at turn eight during the 20 minute morning warm-up session, and although he quickly got to his feet, he was taken to hospital in Jerez for a precautionary CAT scan.

Although the results of the scan returned a negative, the medical team decided that for safety reasons they wanted the Briton to rest up for a minimum of eight hours, which meant his participation in the Spanish Grand Prix was not possible.

Immediately after the MotoGP race, Crutchlow returned to the hospital in Jerez to submit to further checks on his left wrist after feeling increasing pain. Scan results showed a tiny fracture on his left scaphoid bone.

In consultation with MotoGP medical staff, it has been confirmed that Cal will undergo arthroscopic surgery to insert a small fixing pin to assist healing. Depending on the MotoGP medical team’s checks, Cal will be allowed to participate in next weekend’s Andalusian GP if everything goes as planned.

Cal Crutchlow – DNS
“Unfortunately this morning in the last lap of the warm-up I crashed going into turn eight. It seemed that when I braked on the kerb, the front of the bike slid and I was unable to save the crash. What was going to be a normal crash escalated when I went into the deep gravel trap and started tumbling, hitting my head quite a few times, particularly my face. I was a bit dazed after the crash, and a bit sore in my whole body, especially my hands.
After further assessment at the medical centre I was sent for the CT scan on my head and neck and it all came back fine. With the facial bruising I had, however, Dr. Angel Charté felt I needed eight hours rest, which I think was the right decision.
When I returned to the circuit I began to feel some pain in my left wrist, so went for another scan of the scaphoid, which it seems has been broken in the crash. Dr. Mir will operate on the wrist in Barcelona on Tuesday morning, and I will return to the circuit on Friday and hopefully to action. I look forward to seeing the LCR Honda CASTROL Team there, and hopefully to work hard with them again next weekend.”