MotoGP News
Date: 27/July/2011
Jorge Lorenzo's pole position in last weekend's US Grand Prix, just hours after being slammed into the Laguna Seca asphalt, was the latest example of a MotoGP rider defying pain and injury.
Lorenzo, Yamaha's reigning world champion, was launched high into the air after forgetting that the electronic traction control system on his motorcycle is temporarily disengaged when doing a race start.
Traction control re-engages when the rider changes down a gear, as they always do at the first corner of a race. Lorenzo's mistake was to let his guard down after a practice start on Saturday morning, the Spaniard tipping into the following turn without downshifting.
In a graphic illustration of just how reliant the modern breed of grand prix motorcycles have become on electronic control systems, Lorenzo's unrestrained Yamaha literally leapt off the ground as the 24-year-old twisted the throttle sharply on the exit.
Lorenzo performed a somersault before crashing down onto the asphalt with such force that his body bounced visibly back off the ground. He was then hit by the bike as he slid into the gravel. Lorenzo immediately grabbed his right leg, prompting fears of a fracture, and the rider himself later revealed that he had no feeling in his arms or legs for a few seconds.
Amazingly nothing was broken and a battered-and-bruised Lorenzo was not only out on track just hours later for qualifying - but took pole position! Lorenzo then led for 26 of the 32 race laps on Sunday, before being overtaken by Casey Stoner.
So how did Lorenzo do it?
"I really don’t know," admitted Lorenzo, no stranger to injuries during his MotoGP career. "Maybe it's because riders are not so clever! Perhaps smarter people would think more about the risk after a big crash.
"Seriously though, when you get on the bike with the adrenaline pumping, you are more focussed. This allows you to forget about the pain and makes you stronger. That's the only way I can explain it."
Championship leader Stoner has been fortunate to avoid serious injury, but has raced through the pain of a slow-to-heal wrist fracture in the past.
The Honda rider said: "If the injuries they do not really hinder you on the bike you can mentally forget about them. You have to get out there. You have to race. You have to get points.
"It’s quite easy to ignore the pain or problems that you have if they are not too big. As long as you can get on the bike and ride. It's not comfortable and over a race distance is when really starts to bother you. But for me, I can forget about it easily."
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa has more experience of riding injured than just about any other rider in recent premier-class history.
The Spaniard has undergone collarbone surgery three times this year alone - and missed three races - but has still taken two race wins.
"I have had a lot of injuries and, if you had more time to heal, you would take it. But the world doesn’t stop just because you are hurt," said Pedrosa. "And if you have to go out, it is better to go out and do well.
"This is our life. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it is perfect. But the pain is just for a short time, so we know we've got to do it."
Stoner is 20 points ahead of Lorenzo with eight rounds of the 2011 MotoGP season. Lorenzo and Pedrosa now have nearly three weeks' to heal before the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno in mid-August.
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