Raul Fernandez has been ruled out of the Australian Grand Prix following injury, contributing to a widening list of absentees that leaves the MotoGP grid with just 18 of 22 riders scheduled for Sunday’s race at Phillip Island.
Among those uncompensated will be the two astronauts from the factory Honda HRC squad. Joan Mir did not travel to Australia because persistent illness has sidelined him throughout the Asian leg of the season, while Luca Marini’s absence from Saturday and Sunday was confirmed on Saturday morning after a virus limited him to just two laps in Friday’s opening practice session.
The biggest blow came during the sprint race, when Jorge Martin, who had led the championship until Saturday, crashed while battling Marc Marquez. The Spaniard fractured the radius of his right arm and a distal ulna fracture was also suspected. He is now required to return to Spain to fully assess his injuries and decide whether surgery is necessary, at a critical point in the season.
Martin was declared unfit, but he will not be the only Aprilia rider missing from Sunday’s race. His fellow Spaniard Fernandez, driving for Trackhouse Racing, will also sit out the grand prix.
Fernandez had already struggled with finger fractures sustained on Saturday at the Indonesian Grand Prix after colliding with Marco Bezzecchi. While battling pain at Mandalika, he hoped to manage his condition at Phillip Island, but aggravated his injury in a crash during Friday’s opening practice session.
On Saturday, despite worsening discomfort from the latest incident and bumps around the circuit, Fernández pushed onward; however, he eventually retired from the sprint race on his own initiative.
As a result, Fernandez will miss Sunday’s full‑length race after MotoGP medical director Dr Ángel Charte officially declared him unfit. Whether the #25 rider will compete in the second round of the subsequent triple‑header at the Malaysian Grand Prix remains uncertain.
“After the race, Fernandez went straight to a medical assessment with the MotoGP Medical Director, and it was found that while the finger fracture is stable, there is inflammation of the soft tissue around the fracture,” the statement read.
“He has now been declared unfit to take part in the Grand Prix of Australia, on Sunday, and will travel to Malaysia for a further medical assessment on Thursday to determine if he is able to ride at Sepang.”},
Fernandez stated in a post‑race review that although his finger fracture is stable, inflammatory tissue surrounds the break.
Dr Ángel Charte later added: “He has now been declared unfit to participate in the Grand Prix of Australia on Sunday and will travel to Malaysia on Thursday for a comprehensive assessment to see if he could race at Sepang.”