the MotoGP grid is reduced to 18 riders

The MotoGP grid will lose a fourth rider in Argentina. To the already announced losses of Pol Espargaró, Enea Bastianini and Marc Márquez, now another absence is added, that of Miguel Oliveirawho will not travel to Termas de Río Hondo either as a result of the strong blow he suffered on the right side of the hip after being hit by Marc Márquez on the third lap of the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Despite the fact that the first scans did not reveal the presence of fractures, Miguel went to a hospital early Monday to undergo new tests with his trusted doctor; The CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team has not specifically disclosed the type of injury suffered by its rider, but they have officially announced that Oliveira will not participate in the Argentine Grand Prix due, the statement reads, “to a recent injury.”

On Sunday, in Portimao, the Pragal driver himself already dropped that his presence in Argentina was not assured despite not having anything broken: “I don’t know if I will be 100%, but I will do my best. I have a big bump on the hip, on the right side. No fractures so far, but he may have some ligament damage. More tests will have to be done. At the moment I only know that the treatment will be based on anti-inflammatories“Oliveira explained shortly after leaving the Portimao Medical Center.

It was precisely there, at the circuit’s medical facilities, that Marc apologized in person to Miguel: “We met at the Medical Center. We had not yet seen the images, he told me that perhaps he had a problem with the brakes, I did not have much to tell him at that time. I accepted his apology. But when you have a brake problem with these bikes, what you do is brake a little earlier and we don’t try to overtake.. This is the main thing, and it is clear that he knows it better than I do.” Oliveira said seriously, adding that the accident “It wasn’t on purpose, that’s obvious, but maybe in the first few laps (Márquez) was pushing to gain positions, and I think that was the wrong place to do it.”

With the KO of Oliveira, There are already four MotoGP riders who will not be able to compete in Argentina. Added to the decline of the Portuguese is the absence of Pol Espargaro after the multiple fractures he suffered as a result of his fall in FP2 on Friday in Portimao; GASGAS’s man is waiting to undergo surgery to fix his fracture on the right side of his jaw, and he will also have to rest for several weeks to recover from the fractures he also suffered in the C5 cervical and dorsal vertebra.

Those who will not travel to Termas are Aeneas Bastianini -with a broken clavicle as a result of his fall in the Portimao Sprint Race- and Marc Márquezwho this morning underwent surgery for a displaced fracture in his big toe on his right hand.

Read also: Álex Márquez: “At times I thought about the podium, and that hadn’t happened to me in a long time”

For now, and except for last-minute surprises, none of these four pilots will have a substitute in the next round in Argentina, so the MotoGP grid could be reduced to just 18 members during the weekend. The CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team is confident that Oliveira will recover in time to compete in Austin, a round that is scheduled for April 15-16.