Moto3 rider Noah Dettwiler will undergo "multiple surgeries" following a terrible crash with series champion Jose Antonio Rueda before the start of the lightweight-class race at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Both Dettwiler and Rueda were airlifted to hospital after lengthy medical intervention at the site of the crash.
There has been no official communication on Dettwiler's condition as medical work is ongoing, with his Moto3 outfit CIP Green Power simply stating that he "is in good hands" and that further details won't be shared at this time.
With Dettwiler's bike apparently suffering a technical issue on the sighting lap, Rueda was caught out as he came up behind and was hardly able to scrub off any speed at all - leading to a violent collision.
Fellow Moto3 rider Angel Piqueras was seen gesticulating before the accident, trying to warn riders coming up behind that Dettwiler had slowed with an issue.
"I saw the rider that was stopped on the kerb," Piqueras explained. "I knew that some riders were coming behind me - and I was saying, like, 'stop', I was trying to help, to try to avoid any contact or any accident. I think Rueda didn't see my hand. Quite difficult."
Rueda was widely understood early on to have been hurt less seriously and official news on his condition came during the delayed Moto2 race, but the paddock still faced - and still faces - an anxious wait to learn more of Dettwiler's situation and prognosis.
Rueda's Ajo team said he suffered "a severe concussion" and "a fracture in his hand", while MotoGP also mentioned "a number of contusions". He is awake and alert in hospital, where he remains for further checks.
Should Moto3 have still raced?
The incident and the initial absence of communication of the riders' condition overshadowed the day's track action - in which the Moto3 race was delayed but then held, and the Moto2 race was moved to after the MotoGP race.
"I tried not to think about it - because I didn't think about any info, I didn't know. It's really nothing to think. If I know something I can think something. But I had no information. Finally I could focus from the start," said eventual Moto3 winner Taiyo Furusato.
"It's been super strange to race like this," Piqueras said.
"It has been super tough. It's still tough because we don't have clear information," said Aprilia MotoGP rider Marco Bezzecchi before any official update came out on the riders' condition.
"It's not the best, let's say, because I think we deserve to know at least what's happening. The only thing I know is that I think they are quite stable - but I don't know anything more. I don't want to even talk about this, to not say anything wrong to you.
"Starting [the day] like this, seeing such a bad accident, but also not knowing anything about this, seeing the two helicopters go away, no news on anything - it was not the best.
"I think we deserve to know what's happening. Because we are also riders and we have to go there and fight with the bikes, and try to make the best performance that we can - but at least we have to have a clear mind."
His good friend, Ducati MotoGP rider Pecco Bagnaia, went a step further in indicating he didn't think the Moto3 race should've taken place.
"Luckily I'm not the one who needs to take these kind of decisions. I think things are done in a way that I would not do. But it is what it is," he said.
"For me, to let the young riders do a 10-lap race in those conditions, after seeing the helicopters going away with two of them there, I think it's not a perfect idea. I will never understand it. But it is what it is."
