Champion-elect Marc Marquez escaped serious injury after a dramatic crash in the opening practice session for this weekend's Thai Grand Prix.
The Spaniard came off his Repsol Honda at turn seven and slid a significant distance across the tarmac and gravel while the bike somersaulted behind him, losing a wheel and leaving other debris beside the track.
Marquez, 26, was taken to a nearby hospital for checks but was declared fit to continue racing and participated in second practice.
Fuerte caída esta mañana, pero afortunadamente estamos bien. 👍🏼Hard crash this morning but fortunately we are fine.#ThaiGP pic.twitter.com/zByyFTVvOz — Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) October 4, 2019
Honda team boss Alberto Puig told motogp.com: "He had a big crash as you all saw, but fortunately he's OK.
"We went to the hospital to check everything, they did an MRI and everything looks fine.
"Of course, he had some contusions in the back and also in the leg, and also here in the hip a little bit, but nothing to be worried about. We were lucky today.
"He will have some treatment probably, and he will go out and we will try to continue with our plan."
Marquez leads the standings by 98 points and has the chance this weekend to seal his sixth world title. He needs to score two points more than nearest rival Andrea Dovizioso in Thailand to take an unassailable lead.
