Jorge Lorenzo will miss his home Grand Prix at Barcelona this weekend after a crash in this afternoon’s free practice.
The Spaniard lost the front of his M1 at turn 11 just four laps into the afternoon session and slid into the gravel, before being stretchered off and taken to the circuit clinic. After undergoing an initial check-up at the track, which confirmed that there were no further injuries to the ankles which he fractured in China, the decision was made to take him to hospital in Barcelona for further examination.
Doctor Xavier Mir of the University Institut Dexeus in Barcelona commented as follows: “I can confirm that Lorenzo will not be able to compete this weekend after the tests done here at the Institut Dexeus have confirmed the following injuries:
- "He suffered head trauma and lost consciousness. We made a neurological examination with a CAT scan and an MRI scan and from this we can confirm that there is no cranial haemotoma or haemorrage. However, he now needs to stay under observation for between 48 and 72 hours to see how this develops.
- He sustained an injury to the 4th and 5th finger on the right hand, where he has lost some skin. He also has an abrasion of the extensor tendon. We need to see how this develops but it could be possible that he needs a small skin graft.
- Various other bruises and grazes.”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager “Unfortunately today Jorge suffered another crash and it’s clear that the luck is not with him at the moment. This morning we had a good session and things were going very well, we’d found a good base set up from which to work and we were quite happy with our progress. Then this afternoon started well but sadly after four laps we had another crash when Jorge lost the front at turn 11. He was going 130 km so it was quite a fast crash, but we checked the data and we can’t see that he made any particular mistake. We were trying some different tyres and bike setting from the morning and we were feeling quite happy about how things were going so it’s a great pity. Luckily he’s avoided any further injury to his ankles, but the head injury means that he must undergo a period of rest and not take any further risks. We are very disappointed for Jorge, but the important thing now is that he has some rest and takes time to recover properly.”
Masahiko Nakajima - - Team Director “We are very sorry about this matter and about the fact that Jorge is having to miss his home Grand Prix. My feeling is that, after the rain, the track condition today was not normal; it was worse than everyone could have expected. We hope that Jorge recovers quickly and that he will be able to come back in good shape, rested and relaxed, for the next race.”
Ambient temperature: 26 degrees
Track temperature: 41 degrees
Humidity: 31%
Combined Free Practice Times: 1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'43.017
2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'43.023
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'43.090
4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'43.099
5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'43.233
6. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'43.368
7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'43.442
8. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'43.479
9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1'43.614
10. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'43.668
11. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1'43.707
12. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'43.742
13. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'43.96114. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 1'44.043
15. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'44.610
16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1'44.649
17. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1'44.678
18. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1'44.865
Montmelo': Record Lap: N. Hayden (Honda) 2006, 1'43.048
Best Lap: V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2007, 1'41.840
