Good news comes from the Interwetten Honda Racing team this week as Hiroshi Aoyama has been cleared to ride this weekend at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. Aoyama has been siting out MotoGP racing ever since his highside at Silverstone, which fractured one the Japanese rider’s vertebrae. Missing nearly two months of racing, Aoyama participated in MotoGP’s test at Brno two weeks ago, and seemed ready to come back to the sport. In his absence Honda test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi and Alex de Angelis have been carrying the Interwetten banner. Riding at Brno, Aoyama was instantly faster than de Angelis, proving that the Japanese rider’s decision to let his back heal naturally was the better course of treatment than having his vertebrae fused together.
After getting another examination in Barcelona by a specialist, Hiroshi Aoyama has been ruled out from racing for at least two months, after the Japanese ride fractured his T12 vertabra. Taking Aoyama’s place will be Honda test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi, which will keep MotoGP from fielding only 15 bikes on the Dutch grid this weekend. Akiyoshi will race for Interwetten Honda at Assen, and also at Barcelona for the Catalan GP.
At Silverstone this weekend, the infamous highside crash has claimed another rider: Hiroshi Aoyama. After crashing during the warm-up session, Aoyama was eventually taken to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where it was confirmed that the Japanese rider had fractured his T12 vertebra. Aoyama will be moved to Barcelona, Spain tomorrow, where he’ll see another specialist and get a second opinion on how to treat his condition.