‘Shouldn’t happen in 2023’ – MotoGP’s latest concussion concern

The MotoGP paddock was embroiled in a fresh concussion protocol saga across the week spanning the Australian and Thailand Grand Prix, one that left a leading expert alarmed at the potential consequences of a rider being cleared to race after a crash that was initially described by his team as concussive.

‘No one knew that he had lost consciousness’ – What happened at Phillip Island

MT Helmets MSI Moto3 rider Diogo Moreira was one of four to crash on the sighting lap ahead of the very wet Phillip Island race last Sunday.

He made it back to the grid and was allowed to start, but retired moments later and was then quoted as having made highly concerning comments about the state in which he tried to race.

The 19-year-old’s crash happened off-camera, although the aftermath was caught, and Moreira’s movement in the gravel trap prompted MotoGP’s in-house broadcast commentary to describe him as “unsteady on his feet”.

Early drama once again in #Moto3! ?

This time it’s Diogo Moreira that’s crashed on the warm-up lap! ?#AustralianGP ?? pic.twitter.com/2ZHZeeMylN

— MotoGP™? (@MotoGP) October 21, 2023

Moreira rushed back to the pits along with his damaged bike and arrived just four minutes before the scheduled start of the race. His mechanics (with the assistance from those from multiple other teams) were able to repair the damage to his KTM and allow him to start the slightly delayed race from pitlane, seven minutes after he first arrived back.

At no point during the seven minutes he spent in pitlane was he checked over by any of MotoGP’s medical team.

Allowed to join the race from pitlane, he was only able to complete four laps of it due to dizziness before retiring to the pits, at which point he then voluntarily attended the circuit medical centre for further examination.

“Diogo fell during the warm-up lap,” his team explained on Sunday evening on social media. “No one knew that he had lost consciousness. He returns to the pitlane, gets on the bike and four laps later decides to abandon.

“When he went down, he said he felt dizzy and that’s when they reviewed the images and it was confirmed that he lost consciousness.”

“During the warm-up lap,” Moreira added in the team’s press release, “I crashed and hit my head, which made me lose consciousness, and I have to thank everyone for their help and concern.”

Following examination by the MotoGP medical director Dr Angel Charte, Moreira was then sent to Melbourne to undergo a CT scan – something that, while it can diagnose associated injuries such as brain bleeds and fractures, cannot rule out a concussion.

However, with no further injuries showing on that scan, it was then accepted by Charte that Moreira was uninjured. He was cleared fit to ride at this weekend’s Thai Grand Prix, in which he qualified second and finished 13th, at the tail of the pack fighting for victory.

There was a second incident on the sighting lap at…