Rinaldi suffers no “long-term damage” from Donington Park accident

Having already raced in front of his home crowd at Misano last month, Rinaldi will look to do the same at Imola next weekend.

However, the Italian will need to undergo further medical checks, after recently undergoing an MRI following his Donington Park crash.

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What was already a disastrous weekend for the Italian prior to Race 2, Rinaldi was caught up in an accident involving Tom Sykes and Loris Baz.

After being hit by Baz’ Bonovo Action BMW, Rinaldi was momentarily unconscious as claimed to remember nothing from his trip through the gravel. 

Rinaldi was then declared conscious after receiving medical treatment at the side of the track, after an immediate red flag was waved to halt proceedings. 

After undergoing an MRI two days ago, Ducati have confirmed that Rinaldi has suffered no long-term damage from his injuries, which alongside a ‘mild concussion’ included a right ankle injury.

Ducati said: “Michael Rinaldi underwent a follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan (2 days ago) to rule out any long-term damage. 

“The result was normal. Next Thursday (before the event), the rider will undergo all the required functional medical tests, in order to assess the consequences of the concussion and confirm that he is clear to ride at his home round.”

Along with his dramatic start to Race 2, Rinaldi also suffered lap-one issues in both Race 1 and the Superpole Race, both of which relegated him to the back of the field.

Rinaldi’s teammate Alvaro Bautista instead continued his stunning season after claiming victory in the two longer format races and P2 in the Superpole Race behind Toprak Razgatlioglu.