Injury rules Bradley Smith out of Sepang Moto2 race

British rider Bradley Smith has been ruled out of Sunday’s Malaysian Moto2 Grand Prix after being hospitalised following a huge crash in this morning’s opening practice session.

The Tech 3 Racing Team rider was one of four riders to crash after a heavy rain shower soaked Turn 10 right at the start of the 45-minute session.

Jules Cluzel was the first rider to fall and then title contender Marc Marquez suffered a vicious high-side seconds later.

Colombian Yonny Hernandez then crashed before Smith too suffered a huge high-side on his Mistral 610 machine when he hit the wet section of track on full Dunlop slick tyres.

The 20-year-old landed heavily on the tarmac but as he careered into the gravel, he slammed into Marquez’s Suter MMXII machine lying in the gravel.

Smith was immediately taken to the circuit medical centre and it was initially thought he’d broken at least two ribs.

X-rays revealed no broken ribs but Smith was also complaining of pain in his left shoulder and chest.

While undergoing observation at the track, Smith then began coughing up blood, so he was immediately transferred to the Pusat Perubatan UKM Medical Centre near Kuala Lumpur.

Scans showed no signs of any serious internal injuries but Smith will be kept in hospital overnight for observation.

Doctors though have confirmed he suffered a crack to his left collarbone and he has been declared unfit to start the 19-lap race.

Randy Mamola, who is a management representative of the Oxfordshire rider, travelled to the Pusat Perubatan UKM Medical Centre and he told MCN: “He is pretty good spirits but he’s in quite a bit of pain. He’s got a crack on his left collarbone but the concern was when he started coughing and some blood came up. There’s no serious problem, so he is just being kept in for observation tonight. He’ll come back to the track tomorrow to speak to the Clinica Mobile guys about the collarbone.”

The Sepang circuit was hit with a fine of 15,000 Euros by Race Direction after it emerged that marshals at Turn 10 didn’t display the appropriate flags warning riders that the track was completely wet.