ELBOW NERVE INJURY FORCES MOREIRA OUT OF QATAR GRAND PRIX

Diogo Moreira says a nerve problem linked to a crash during his Moto2 career forced him to retire from Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, after pain in his elbow grew through the weekend.

The Honda rider crashed at the Sachsenring last year, and the resulting injury has flared up amid a demanding run of races. Moreira said he was already hurting during the Malaysian round, but managed to compete there. In Qatar, the pain began on Friday and steadily worsened.

“The main problem now is the nerve in the elbow,” he said. “I was already in pain in Malaysia on Saturday, but I still rode the race there. But here I was already in pain on Friday, and it got worse and worse.”

Moreira finished 17th in practice and qualified 16th at Lusail, then took 10th in the Sprint. He felt the injury in the closing laps of that race, but could not continue in the Grand Prix, retiring on lap seven.

“In the sprint I felt it in the last laps, but on Sunday it was impossible. I felt the pain,” he said. Moreira pointed to the accumulated time on the bike and the physical demands of the recent venues. Malaysia and Qatar, he noted, have many right-hand corners, while Lusail is also a physically demanding circuit.

He said he had been tense on the bike throughout the Qatar weekend, with the discomfort becoming harder to manage as the race went on. “I had a lot of difficulties here. I was very tense on the bike, and at the end of the race it was even worse.”

With a week to recover before the next round in Portimao, Moreira expects the break to help. “We now have a week to rest and continue training. I’m sure it will be better again in Portimao,” he said, adding: “I have to recover now and in Portimao I will be back at 100 per cent.”