Criville up all night to solve fainting fits

Alex Criville will be locked in a room and made to stay awake for over two days in a bid to pinpoint the cause of the fainting fits which forced him to take a break from GPs this season.

One of the initial tests is to hook him up to brain monitors and constantly film his progress.

Doctors want to find out whether Criville’s problems are related to racing accidents in which he’s banged his head.

His spokesman said: ” The initial analysis will take up to five days. This is just the first test in a series that will be carried out to find out exactly what is causing the problems he’s suffered. ”

His D’Antin Yamaha team is no nearer finding a replacement, while the team itself may be under threat as it battles to retain Criville’s sponsorship from fuel giant Repsol.