Encouraging Gino Rea update: “He opened his eyes...”
The British rider’s family released their latest update on his condition on Saturday morning, a week after his accident in Japan.
“Had a good message from the doctor this morning,” the update read.
“His condition [on Saturday] morning was stable.
“Once we reduced the dose of anaesthesia medicine,he opened his eyes, and made eye contact in a very short term.
“By our direction, he could hold his hand.
“To keep him safe we administered sedation - this will help with his recovery.
“Elaine, Shannon and Peter visited him today, as well as me and Isaella, he opened his eyes for short bursts and kicked his legs and moved his arms many times.
“Heading in the right direction.”
Rea crashed at the same part of the Suzuka circuit where Dajiro Kato was killed in 2003 - MotoGP no longer use the circuit as a result.
He was airlifted to hospital and was in a coma, police said.
A previous update on Rea’s condition read: “The results of the CT-Scan showed signs of recovery with [reduced] swelling.
“He is in a stable condition and recovering from the usual side effects from such a trauma.
“We are looking forward to a Speedy G recovery from him as we all know he is capable of it.”