Petronas Yamaha MotoGP star Franky Morbidelli flew home to Italy after his crash last Sunday but says that despite being pinged off at 200mph he is ready for first practice at the same track on Friday.

Morbidelli was involved in an horrific accident with Johann Zarco at the Red Bull Ring but escaped virtually unscathed as his YZR-M1 became an unguided missile, missing Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales by inches at turn three as they braked down to 40mph.

“After the race I came back to Italy to rest at home. I’ve been resting these past few days and making sure I am as prepared as possible for this weekend,” said Morbidelli.

“I am thankful that I am fine and that I didn’t end up with a serious injury – the right side of my body is still sore, but better than I could have expected after that crash.

“I’m really looking forward to starting the weekend and focusing on racing again. I want to see how I feel on the bike on Friday, but I’m confident that I’ll be ready.

“I know that we might have another tough weekend ahead and we need to score as many points as possible. My team has worked so hard to give me the best bike possible and I hope to go out this weekend and achieve a great result for them.”

Morbidelli has an appointment with the FIM stewards at the track tomorrow as they try to work out how the crash happened last weekend.