Shinya Nakano suffered a spectacular crash in morning free practice at Brno, highsiding his D'Antin Yamaha at 140mph in🀅 a spectacular, but sickening accident that required the Japanese to be airlifted to aꦏ nearby Hospital.

Shinya had started the session with a good pace, and before his fall had posted top five times. After a pit stop, following his fourth lap, he returned💃 to push harder, but on his sixth lap he found countryman Tohru Ukawa ☂on his racing line in turn one.

Then, wh🅠ile accelerating out of the corner, his YZR-M1 spat him off at 224kmh/140mph, sending both man and machine tumbling across the asphalt, through the gravel trap, and into the soft crash barriers.

The affable Nakano suffered a big knock on his head, causing concussion, but results from a hospital scan proved he is otherwise unhurt - a miracle given the magnitude of the accident and the fact that his M1 was reduced to kit💦 form.

"I can only rem♛ember that I found Ukawa v💟ery slow in my way so I had to change my line," recalled Shinya, who had been a provisional eighth fastest yesterday. "I want to apologise, see my mechanics and the whole team and tell them not to worry. I still want to race tomorrow."

This afternoon Nakano will have a further check-up and if the results are again positive, he will try and ride his bike in tomorrow's warm-up.

"Fortunately we are so happy because despite that big crash, Shinya is unhurt," said 🐽a relieved Luis D'Antin, "An🦹d, if he really feels good tomorrow, we expect he could race, he has been very competitive in this track."

Should he be fit for action, Nakano would line-up 14th on the grid after missing toda💧y's final qualifying session.