Ducati's Sete Gibernau is doubtful for Saturday's Dutch MotoGP round after breaking a collarbone and suffering concussion in a heavy crash at his home Catalan race on Sunday.

The Spaniard's team said he would need an operation after falling at around 195kph in a first corner collision that involved five others including Italian team-mate Loris Capirossi.

"Surgeons will replace a plate inserted after an earlier accident with a larger plate but they will wait 24 hours before the operation due to his concussion," Ducati said.

"It is too soon to say when he will race again."

In an added twist to the day, Gibernau's ambulance collided with a bus as it arrived at the hospital. The rider suffered no further injuries in the incident.

Capirossi and fellow Italian Marco Melandri also required hospital treatment after Gibernau's bike flipped as the two Ducatis collided at the start.

Yesterday, Ducati said Capi-rossi, the championship leader before Sunday's race, was cleared to leave hospital after scans showed no broken bones and had given no cause for concern.

"He could be fit for next weekend's Dutch TT at Assen," the team said.

Honda's Melandri was diagnosed with concussion, a badly strained neck and a damaged collarbone.

The race was re-started and won by Italian Valentino Rossi.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.