MotoGP Malaysia: Espargaro fighting to race after foot fracture

"When I braked some oil was starting to come onto the wheel" - Pol Espargaro.
Espargaro fighting to race after foot fracture

Pol Espargaro was forced to sit out qualifying for Sunday's Malaysian MotoGP after breaking the second m🌸etatarsal bone in his left foot during practi🦹ce at Sepang.

Espargaro fell♉ after a small piece of glass punctured the oil radiator on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 bike, leaking fluid onto the back wheel.

🌠The reigning Moto2 champion 🐲is not sure if he will be fit enough to race, but intends to do all he can to take his twelfth place on the grid - possible since he had already set a practice lap time good enough to reach Qualifying 2.

"My injury is not the best now but we are putting some ice on it and maybe tomorrow we can ride in the race," said Espargaro. "It will be diffi🦹cult but we will fight for it and try and race 🌳tomorrow."

Andrea Dovizioso and Scott Redding tried to warn Espargaro just before the incident, but the smoke was intermittent and𒊎 Espargaro could not spot the damage.

"T𓂃hey said that I had something at the rear but I checked and it was ok," he said. "The bike was letting a small [amount of] oil on to the wheel ಌbut it was impossible to see and I didn't see it.

"Dovi and Redding 🐼saw it and they t✱old me that there was a problem with the bike, but I didn't see it so I continued pushing and it had the same power and everything at the end of the straight but when I braked some oil was starting to come onto the wheel."

The injury is clearly painful for Espargaro but failin🌳g to race could mean surrendering any chance of claiming sixth in the world championship from brother Aleix - and leave him vulnerable to team-mate Bradley ꦺSmith, just eight points behind.

"We'll have to forget it bec😼ause tomorrow we have a race. Changing gear will be really difficult with the pain but I don't know because I've never raced like this but we'll see tomorrow what happens."

As well as the iꦑnjury, the accident left Espargaro's YZR-M1 burning at the side of th🐎e track.

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