The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team have provided an update on Alvaro Bautista following his wildcard at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Spaniard revealed on the Sunday in Malaysia that he was suffering with pain in his neck following a testing crash at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto which limited his performance at Sepang, with the team now providing a further update on him. They have said surgery is not currently planned following examinations in Madrid.

Bautista finished 17^th in the Grand Prix on Sunday as he battled the problem, before disclosing it following the conclusion of his first MotoGP™ appearance in five years. It came after a post-round test at Jerez in WorldSBK. He had a highside at Turn 13 on the opening day of the two-day test which briefly brought out the red flags, but he returned to the track to complete his duties before heading to Malaysia for the wildcard.

After a tricky weekend where he finished well down the order in every session, Bautista first spoke of his injury and now the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati outfit have provided a further update on this. A release said: “In the week following the MotoGP™ Grand Prix in Malaysia, Alvaro Bautista underwent examinations by Dr. Angel Villamor in Madrid. After medical specialist consultation and cervical spine MRI review due to loss of strength, numbness, and tingling sensation in the left upper limb reported after the crash in Jerez test and MotoGP™ Grand Prix of Malaysia, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team’s rider was diagnosed with C6-C7 hernia and C5-C6 disc protrusions. Further medical examinations and tests will be carried out in the next few days in order to assess possible damages due to the cervical nerves compression. For the time being, however, surgery is not planned.”

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