Avintia MotoGP rider Tito Rabat is aiming to race in next weekend's Italian Grand Prix, despite suffering a left arm injury in a crash during a test at the Catalunya circuit on Wednesday.
Rabat and the Avintia Ducati squad joined the majority of MotoGP teams at a Michelin tyre test on the newly resurfaced Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which will host the seventh round of the 2018 season in June.
The former Moto2 champion suffered a fiery front-end crash at the final corner – which has increased in speed this year thanks to the return of the fast right-hander of Turn 13, instead of the Formula 1 chicane MotoGP had been using on safety grounds since '16 – and was taken to hospital for checks on his left arm.
Rabat was diagnosed with a three-centimetre muscle rupture on his arm and spent the night in hospital, before being discharged without the need for surgery on Thursday morning.
The Spaniard will now return to his home in Valencia to recover before undergoing further checks next Tuesday, and hopes to be present on the grid at Mugello next weekend.
“My treatment couldn’t have been better, at the circuit as well as at the Dexeus clinic, where Dr. Charte and Dr. Mir gave me the best care imaginable,” said Rabat.
“Yesterday we thought it would be an almost impossible task to race at Mugello, because it looked as if I needed an operation.
“But this morning, we made some more checks and decided to simply leave the arm in a cast for a week.
“Next week, we will check on the injury again. This year has been good for us so far, we have been very competitive, and this is why we want to try everything possible to get back into shape and be able to ride at Mugello.
“I want to thank everybody for the tremendous help and support I received since this crash.”
Rabat joined the Avintia Ducati team at the start of this season, having spent two years with Marc VDS Honda, and is currently 11th in the standings, three places and eight points ahead of factory Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo.
