Enea Bastianini has withdrawn from the remainder of the 2023 Spanish MotoGP at Jerez after deciding the pain in his injured shoulder is too much to continue.

The Italian was hoping to kick-start the European summer season with a competitive return to action but after struggling through P1 and P2, he completed just a couple more laps in P3 at Jerez before deciding to stand down.

Speaking on Friday afternoon, Bastianini told assembled media - including Crash.net - that "for sure I'd like to continue, but I also have to be realistic,” Bastianini said. “After six or seven laps I was really fatigued, so it will be difficult to think I can finish the long race. It was a challenging day, but I expected it given my condition."

Bastianini was injured in the very first race of the 2023 MotoGP season, the Portimao Sprint Race, when he was wiped out by an errant Luca Marini on lap three.

Resulting in a broken shoulder blade, Bastianini missed the Portimao feature, plus the entire Argentina and COTA weekends.