Miguel Oliveira will not take part in Sunday’s Argentina Grand Prix, following the accident involving him and fellow MotoGP rider Fermin Aldeguer in the Saturday sprint.
The Portuguese rider was cleared of any fractures after being taken to hospital on Saturday, but later in the evening Autosport learned that there were some concerns around his left shoulder ligament.
The decision was thus taken for the Pramac Yamaha rider to return to Europe for further evaluation.
Skipping Sunday’s race is understood to be a precautionary measure for a rider who missed five races late last season after a technical issue caused him to crash and fracture his right wrist at the Indonesian Grand Prix in September.
Gresini Ducati newcomer Aldeguer apologised for his role in the lap 4 incident, in which his attempt to overtake Oliveira went awry, resulting in a heavy tumble for both riders. There were initial fears that Oliveira had broken a collarbone, but these were later proven unfounded.
While Aldeguer was considerably delayed by the clash, he was able to remount and finish the race in 19th and last position.
Aldeguer, who has stepped up from the Moto2 category for a first MotoGP campaign, was found guilty of “causing an accident or contact with another rider resulting in an accident” and will serve a long-lap penalty in Sunday’s grand prix.
Five-time MotoGP winner Oliveira moved from Trackhouse Aprilia to Pramac Yamaha for the 2025 season, while Spaniard Aldeguer is stepping up from the Moto2 category.
The rookie will line up in 14th for the grand prix, while Oliveira would have started in 17th, ahead of only five other riders.
Another rider to miss the grand prix will be Lorenzo Savadori, as Jorge Martin's Aprilia substitute suffered a left shoulder injury in qualifying.
He arrived at the circuit on Sunday unsure about participating and while he did complete a full quota of laps in the morning warm-up session, he underwent a medical examination afterwards and it was subsequently decided that he would not race.
