LCR Honda fill-in Johann Zarco has escaped a major leg injury following a bizarre incident at Valencia, which saw the Frenchman wiped off his feet by Iker Lecuona’s stray KTM RC16.

Zarco crashed at turn six moments after Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) fell, however once the number five returned to his feet and walked off the sand trap, Lecuona also crashed at the turn, with his motorcycle cleaning up an oblivious Zarco from behind in the process.

The former Moto2 world champion will undergo further medical evaluation left ankle, although initial scans have determined there are no broken bones.

“I’m okay, I think the injury could have been worse,” Zarco stated. “It was a difficult race – I knew it was going to be a long race, so I thought that with a used tyre maybe I would have the right pace. Thankfully I was around the 10th position which was good.

“After overtaking Pol Espargaro I tried to get a better pace, I saw [Danilo] Petrucci crash and I don’t know if I lost a bit of focus because a little bit later I also crashed in the corner. I was sliding and thinking it was a shame I’d lost the race, and I didn’t check on the bike and then the bike of [Iker] Lecuona totally took me away.

“I had big pain on the left ankle and I was scared, but now it’s not so bad as there are no broken bones. We’ll have to do some more tests tomorrow, but it’s ok I think. It’s a shame to finish the season in that way.”

Zarco’s future remains uncertain after he exited his two-year deal with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in September, later scoring a guest ride with LCR Honda for the final three rounds.