Bagnaia to race in Italy despite confirmed ankle bone fracture

Reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia will compete at his home round in Italy next month despite fracturing an ankle at the last race in France.

Ducati Lenovo rider Bagnaia was involved in a tangle with Aprilia Racing’s Maverick Vignales as they tussled over third place at Le Mans, which saw both end up in the gravel and out of the race.

Despite the incident, Bagnaia emerged from the fifth round of this year’s series still leading the championship by a point from Marco Bezzecchi after his fellow Italian took the chequered flag on his Ducati for the Mooney VR46 Racing team.

That has now set up a mouthwatering showdown between the top two on home soil at Mugello on June 9-11.

Bagnaia, however, will be nursing an ankle injury as his team has confirmed that scans undertaken at his home town in Misano have shown up a minor fracture.

But with time on Bagnaia’s side between now and the next event, the 26-year-old will ride as he looks to bounce back from what was his second retirement of the season in France.

 

⚠️ UPDATE. As @PeccoBagnaia was still feeling some pain in his right ankle, after last Sunday’s crash in France, he underwent further checks in Misano, which found a small partial talus bone fracture. This minor injury will not prevent his participation in the next Italian GP. pic.twitter.com/ObEWjNBwJ5

— Ducati Corse (@ducaticorse) May 21, 2023

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