Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo has suffered a fractured left ankle and severe trauma and bruising to parts of the right ankle and foot after crashing in this morning’s first free practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix. The 20-year-old joint World Championship leader was thrown from his M1 during a dramatic high-side at the chicane after turn one, mid-way through the session, on just his tenth lap.
After an initial examination at the circuit clinic Lorenzo was taken to the Huashan hospital in Shanghai for an MRI scan and further detailed diagnosis, before returning to the track and spending the remainder of the day resting at the Clinica Mobile. His condition will be re-assessed in the morning before any decision is taken about riding.
Dr Claudio Costa of the Clinica Mobile said: “Detailed examination has revealed that Jorge h as re-fractured the top of the malleolo bone in the middle of the left ankle. Furthermore, the MRI scan showed that there are severe impact oedemas to the right heel, the astragalo bone and the tibia, but fortunately no signs of further fractures. The diagnosis shows the violence of the trauma he suffered to both his feet in the crash and Jorge now faces a very difficult task to participate in tomorrow’s qualifying and Sunday’s race.”
Ramon Forcada - Crew Chief “It’s a great pity this has happened, right at the start of Jorge’s weekend; we were focused on his arm following his recent operation and we were quite confident that he could ride as usual. It was a very bad crash and it is not clear yet what happened because we lost all the data when the equipment was damaged at the time. As far as we can see from the TV, he lost grip on the rear. I do not know if Jorge will be able to ride tomorrow, but in any case we have lost two sessions and we will have to work today in order to prepare the bike with an ideal set-up for tomorrow. It will be hard, very hard, as tough as Jorge is!”
Ambient temperature: 25 degrees
Track temperature: 38 degrees
Humidity: 37%
Combined Free Practice Times: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'59.906 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 2'00.163
3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 2'00.361
4. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 2'00.553
5. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 2'00.591
6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 2'00.607
7. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 2'00.931
8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2'00.964
9. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 2'00.974
10. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 2'01.064
11. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 2'01.326
12. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 2'01.504
13. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 2'01.798
14. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 2'01.913
15. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 2'01.984
16. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 2'02.026
17. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 2'02.348
18. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2'02.480 Shanghai:Record Lap: D.Pedrosa (Honda) 2006, 1'59.318
Best Lap: V.Rossi (Yamaha) 2007, 1'58.424
