Aleix Espargaro has withdrawn from this weekend's German MotoGP round, after injuries sustain in Assen.
At the MotoGP Dutch TT, Espargaro crashed at the Ramshoek in the Sprint and broke a metacarpal in his right hand.
The Spaniard returned home after the Dutch round for treatment and therapy on his injury in order to be ready to try to ride at this weekend's MotoGP German Grand Prix.
However, Espargaro went out in FP1 on Friday morning and completed only three laps, at a pace over 10 seconds slower than that set by the front runners. As a result of his inability to ride at a competitive pace, Espargaro decided to withdraw from the remainder of the weekend, telling MotoGP.com that riding was "impossible".
"I had a lot of pain before coming here," Espargaro said to MotoGP.com's pit lane reporter Simon Crafar during FP1, "but I decided at the very last moment to come. Obviously, the doctors told me I wouldn't be able to ride because I have a big injury in my hand. It’s on the right hand, which I use to accelerate, but I didn’t want to stay at home.
"So, I came here, I tried my best but it’s impossible, I am in a lot of pain. Every time I went into the right corners, I could not control the throttle. It’s also dangerous for the others, so I was forced to stop."
Ordinarily, Espargaro would be replaced at Aprilia for the weekend by test rider and regular wildcard Lorenzo Savadori, but the Italian was also injured in the MotoGP Sprint last weekend, meaning only Maverick Vinales will represent the factory Aprilia team this weekend in Germany.
