At the end of January, Franco Morbidelli suffered a serious accident while training at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve with a production bike. He suffered a small blood clot in his head and could only return to action last weekend at the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix.
This is not the first serious accident to occur at the track that hosts the Portuguese GP – particularly notable was Pol Espargaró’s crash in last year’s edition. When asked if there should be changes in Portimão due to this crash history, Morbidelli remarked:
– Portimão it’s a rollercoaster, it’s a particular track and can be very dangerous sometimes. But it’s very fun and very dangerous, as this sport is. There are some upgrades on the gravel, but I never touched Portimão’s gravel in my life. I sware. Even the last time was enough, I didn’t touched the gravel – I just touched the tarmac pretty strongly with my head.