Scott Redding’s Moto2 world title challenge took a severe hit at Phillip Island today.

Moto2 World Championship leader Scott Redding will sit out the remainder of this weekend’s Tissot Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, a crushing crash in qualifying fracturing the Brit’s wrist.

Redding was ejected from his Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex between Turns 11 and 12 and the scenic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on his way to qualifying 10th, now scheduled for emergency surgery at Epworth Hospital in Richmond tonight.

It’s a severe blow for the MotoGP-bound 20-year-old, who entered the Phillip Island weekend with a nine-point advantage over Spaniard Pol Espargaro, who will start tomorrow’s Moto2 race from pole position.

The weekend has been an intriguing one in Moto2, with race direction confirming prior to qualifying that the race will be reduced from 25 to 13 laps.

It was a decision made “in consultation with the Official Moto2 tyre supplier in the interests of rider safety”. Full points will still be awarded.