Alex Marquez suffered a fractured neck and broken collarbone following a high-speed incident at the Catalonia MotoGP.
The race in Barcelona was halted twice due to separate incidents before Fabio di Giannantonio ultimately secured victory.
The Italian rider, piloting a Ducati, triumphed in the third attempt, followed by Joan Mir and Fermin Aldeguer.
Two significant crashes led to the race being stopped, with Marquez involved in a serious collision after running into the back of Pedro Acosta.
Acosta, who was leading on lap 12 of 24, experienced a sudden loss of power on the straight, prompting the Spaniard to frantically warn the riders behind him.
However, Marquez, in second place, had insufficient time to react, colliding with the rear of Acosta’s KTM. Marquez and his Ducati were sent towards the wall before violently tumbling through the air.
Marquez was transported to the medical center via ambulance and did not participate in the restart. His team, Gresini Racing, reported that he was conscious.
The team later confirmed, external that Marquez sustained a “marginal fracture of his C7” vertebra and will undergo further medical evaluation.
He also suffered a “right clavicle fracture,” which will be stabilized with a plate, and he is scheduled to undergo surgery on Sunday.
“Everything under control,” Marquez stated in a social media post., external “Time to go into the operating room tonight, but I couldn’t be in better hands.
“Huge thanks to everyone for your concern and for the loving messages I’m receiving.”
Di Giannantonio was struck by debris during the crash but was able to restart and ultimately secure the victory.
Former Moto2 champion Johann Zarco was also hospitalized after crashing out of the restart, which triggered a second red flag.
Zarco became entangled with his bike, and his LCR Honda team later reported, external that he had “sustained injuries to the anterior and posterior cruciate ligament, and to the medial meniscus,” as well as “a small fibula tear in the ankle area.”
The team added: “Zarco will remain overnight under observation and will travel to France on Monday to consult with specialists and assess the next steps in his recovery.”
“Today has not been an easy day for everybody. I really hope that Alex is fine,” Di Giannantonio commented.
“We’ve been really lucky. We know that our sport is amazing. We try to give an amazing show, but also we are humans and we are in danger. So I really hope that everybody is safe.”
Reigning champion Marc Marquez, Alex’s brother, missed the race after fracturing his foot in France last weekend.