Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco share injury updates after shocking Catalan GP crashes

The younger Marquez brother looks set to continue his great form on Sunday following his close sprint victory on Saturday over KTM's Pedro Acosta. The pair were engaged in another thrilling duel until things quickly went south on Lap 11.

On the back-straight at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Acosta's engine cut out due to a mechanical issue just a few meters down the straight. This led Alex Marquez, who was already following behind and planning an overtake at the end of the straight, to slam into the back of Acosta at extremely high speed before then losing control and flying into the gravel. His bike then hit an air fence along a solid concrete wall and catapulted the Gresini rider almsot 50 meters along the ground.

A lengthy red flag halted the session with many fearing the worst as Alex Marquez was ushered into an ambulance behind the raised blankets which usually indicate something very serious and graphic has taken place.

However, that wasn't the end of the weekend's horror. On the restart after the red flag, Johann Zarco got tangled up (quite literally) in the rear wheel of Francesco Bagnaia's bike and was sent somersaulting through the gravel at turn one while his leg was lodged in Pecco's bike. Both Bagnaia and Luca Marini were in visible panic as they approached the Frenchman and saw the state his leg was in.

Fortunately, both Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco have provided injury updates and neither suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of their crashes. Alex Marquez suffered a broken collar bone and a fractured C7 vertebrae at the base of the neck, while Zarco suffered a snapped fibula but fortunately managed to avoid even further trauma.

Both men took to social media to povide updates to their fans and ensuring everyone that they are conscious and okay - however it is not clear how long until either of them plans to make any return to the grid.