Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir had a Sunday to forget at the Red Bull Ring after a turn four highside curtailed the Spaniard’s MotoGP race on lap one.

Launched skywards and through the gravel after just four corners of the 28-lap race, the 2020 MotoGP Champion was taken directly to the Spielberg circuit’s medical centre with fractures to his right ankle immediately detected. Mir will undertake further scans and checks on his return to Spain.

“I had a very big crash at turn four,” Mir explained on Sunday afternoon. “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.”