Although, thankfully, no one was seriously injured, the chaos at Catalunya is having a number of interesting repercussions. An update on the latest developments:
- Loris Capirossi is out of hospital, and though badly bruised, expects to start as normal at Assen on Saturday.
- Sete Gibernau is expected to undergo an operation to replace a plate on his collarbone today (Tuesday), and will be out for at least two races (Assen and Donington). Gibernau is likely to be replaced by fellow countryman Ruben Xaus, currently riding in the World Superbike series, rather than Ducati's test rider Vittoriano Guareschi, though this has not yet been officially confirmed.
- Marco Melandri has also left the hospital. He has a severe concussion and a great deal of bruising, but will be flying to Assen together with MotoGP's own Dr Costa. Dr Costa will judge whether Melandri is fit to ride on Thursday morning before the first free practice session. Melandri is expected to be fit for Donington, and as a result, Fortuna Honda is unlikely to field a replacement for him, as MotoGP rules only oblige teams to provide a replacement if a rider is out for two races or more. The organizer of the Dutch TT at Assen, Jos Vaessen, has been heavily involved in trying to persuade Fortuna Honda to run the Dutch ex-GP star Jurgen van den Goorbergh as replacement, which is entirely feasible, as van den Goorbergh is currently involved with Honda in Enduro and Supermoto racing, and is a test rider for Michelin, so has spent a good deal of time recently on a range of top MotoGP bikes which run Michelin tires, including the Honda.
