Moto2: Huertas suffers a massive crash at Valencia — double fracture, GP over and surgery imminent

Displaced fracture of the radius in the left arm, and a fracture of the radius in the right arm as well. That’s the diagnosis for Adrian Huertas, who suffered a violent highside at Turn 6 just minutes into Moto2 FP1 at Valencia. Inevitably, the 2024 Supersport world champion will have to undergo surgery to repair the first injury. A particularly bitter end to a debut season that was anything but simple for the Spaniard; Italtrans also loses its second rider in the very GP where it could be celebrating Diogo Moreira’s historic title...

It could have been even worse: just seconds later, Ayumu Sasaki crashed in exactly the same spot, fortunately only brushing past both Huertas and the marshals who had promptly come to the Spaniard’s aid. The red flag at 36:35 allowed for safe intervention, as Huertas was left in severe pain on the ground, close to the track edge, and was subsequently stretchered off, with Sasaki nearby to check on his condition. It was the result of a violent highside moments earlier, with a heavy impact on the asphalt and, as confirmed by subsequent checks, rather serious consequences, given that we are talking about fractures in both arms.

The session was then halted for quite a while, with marshals and staff on track to restore conditions at Turn 6. Three crashes in quick succession, one very heavy, so everything stopped to assess the situation before sending the Moto2 riders back out. Afterwards, the session resumed, with another crash for Guevara on the report; Salac and Navarro also went down later, while Alex Escrig hit the afterburners: the Forward rider laid down a blistering lap of 1:33.050, a new absolute record for Moto2. The two title contenders weren’t far off: Manuel Gonzalez finished 2nd, Diogo Moreira 5th.