Mir fractures right ankle but 'feels lucky' after Spielberg crash

Joan Mir fractured his right ankle after crashing on the opening lap of the Austrian Grand Prix, but the Suzuki Ecstar rider "feels lucky" to have escaped further injuries.

The 2020 world champion was thrown off his bike and onto the gravel at turn four in Sunday's race and was taken to the Spielberg medical centre.

That was Mir's sixth abandonment of the season – more than in his two previous campaigns – with the Spaniard having now gone 14 races in a row without a podium finish.

While the incident did not appear too serious at the time, the extent of Mir's injuries was made clear shortly after the race, which was won by Francesco Bagnaia.

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"I had a very big crash at turn four," he said. "I lost the rear and it was a high side. It could've been a lot worse, so I feel lucky.

"Initial checks show some bone fragments and fractures in my ankle. Tomorrow I'll go for further checks and an MRI to check the ligaments."

Bagnaia's victory was his third in a row – the first time he has achieved that in his MotoGP™ career – and saw the Italian close the gap on leader Fabio Quartararo to 44 points.

He is the first Ducati rider to secure a hat-trick of victories since Casey Stoner in 2008, and only the second Italian to do so after nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi.

There was a tinge of disappointment for Bagnaia, however, as Quartararo recovered from sixth to finish in second place and minimise the damage.

"I have to be happy," Bagnaia said in his post-race interview. "My team have done an incredible job.

"It was a long race today. I made too many mistakes in the first part of the year, so it was time for me to be more smart.

"When I looked at the gap, I tried to be cautious with the time laps as I was sure that my pace was good enough to open the gap, and in the last two laps I just tried to be calm."

Game over before it's even started! 💥@JoanMirOfficial is OUT on lap 1! 😢#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/1FQNFj4px6

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 21, 2022