Image: Russell Colvin.

A battered and bruised Fabio Quartararo endured a luckless weekend at Phillip Island’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, the rookie’s weekend coming to an end on lap one when he was taken down by an airborne Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team).

The Petronas Yamaha SRT rider was hospitalised on Friday after a high-speed crash, however was later declared fit to ride from Saturday.

The Frenchman qualified strongly on the front row, although his hopes of challenging for another podium were short-lived after making an error on lap one, which was only worsened when Petrucci crashed violently behind him, taking down the number 20 in the process.

“It was a tough weekend, with a big crash on Friday and a crash on Sunday,” Quartararo commented. “This morning we were able to do something incredible, taking part in my first MotoGP Q1 then going through to the front row. That was a really nice start to the day.

“In the race, if Petrucci hadn’t hit me I would probably have run onto the grass and lost a lot of positions anyway, but it’s still my rookie year and I’ll learn from it. I’ll now take the opportunity to rest and recuperate as much as possible before the next race in Sepang where I want to reward the circuit and Petronas with a strong performance.”

Despite the DNF, Quartararo sits sixth in the standings as the championship visits Sepang this weekend for the penultimate round of the series.