Another title twist as Pedrosa joins injury list


MotoGP News
Date: 13/July/2013

With Championship rival Jorge Lorenzo forced out of the German MotoGP after bending the plate in his newly broken collarbone, Dani Pedrosa looked on course to build a big points advantage

Instead the Honda rider was thrown into the air on his first fast Saturday morning lap, leaving him to be airlifted to hospital for checks on his left collarbone and a possible concussion.

The concussion fears proved unfounded, but a small fracture was found in the collarbone. Pedrosa must now decide if he should risk starting Sunday’s race, give that a further accident would mean surgery.

"I'm still not totally sure what happened. I hit my head hard and immediately felt a lot of pain in my shoulder and I checked to see if I could feel anything. Thankfully in the medical centre they saw it wasn't broken but maybe a small fracture, and I was also feeling very dizzy but never lost consciousness.

“Just to be safe, we flew to Chemnitz Hospital for a CAT scan and then returned to Clinica Mobile at the circuit. They confirmed I had a small fracture in my left collarbone but I am thankful it wasn't a complete break.

“Now I will rest tonight and see how I feel in the morning. If I feel strong enough I will have the medical check to clear me for the race.”

Pedrosa holds a nine-point lead over Lorenzo after seven of 18 rounds. Lorenzo, who rode to fifth just two days after breaking his collarbone at Assen, had a replacement plate inserted on Saturday morning in Barcelona.

The operation was more complex than the first - involving a new plate, ten screws and some bone from his pelvis to fill the re-opened break - but his participation in next weekend’s American Grand Prix has not yet been ruled out.

With Pedrosa and Lorenzo damaged, a third rider may be about to enter the title fight. Race winning rookie Marc Marquez, team-mate to Pedrosa, has qualified on pole and looks set to eat into the current 23-point gap to the top.

No comments:

Post a Comment