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MotoGP: The Laguna Seca Injury Update, Part 2 – Iannone Out, Lorenzo To Undergo Medical

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The composition of the MotoGP grid at Laguna Seca remains uncertain at the moment, as injuries sustained at the Sachsenring continue to take their toll. On Tuesday, Andrea Iannone announced that he would not be fit enough to race at Laguna Seca, after a CT scan showed up problems with the shoulder he hurt at the Sachsenring.

Iannone had a massive crash at Turn 1, as he accidentally selected the pit lane mapping while braking for the corner, locking up the rear wheel and being thrown from the bike. The Italian dislocated his right shoulder in the crash, and was forced to withdraw from the race in Germany.

An examination in Italy revealed a large amount of fluid in the joint, making it impossible for him to race in the US GP, the Italian press service ANSA is reporting.

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Trackside Tuesday: Great Expectations

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After Jorge Lorenzo’s heroic ride at Assen, where he’d broken his left collarbone only two days before, the German GP had many of us asking “how much is too much?” in terms of riding with injuries.

Two weeks after Lorenzo had risked, perhaps not ‘everything’ but certainly ‘a lot,’ to limit his injury’s effect on the championship standings (he finished 5th, one place behind a struggling Dani Pedrosa), the topic came up in Thursday’s Press Conference at the German GP. Cal Crutchlow remarked that Lorenzo’s decision at Assen had raised the bar for all riders facing the question: Should I race with this injury?

Ironically, or perhaps not, Crutchlow himself had raised this bar at Silverstone last season when he slipped past the medical exam process to turn in his own amazing ride through the pack with a broken ankle. He pointed out that now more riders would be using Lorenzo’s Assen ride as a precedent: if he was allowed to ride at Assen, why can’t I?

Lorenzo didn’t like the sound of that, saying other riders should not use him as an example and instead listen to their own bodies to determine if they should sit out or compete while injured.

All weekend I heard different responses to the situation, from respect for athletes who push through pain, to scorn for the willingness to put others at risk by competing at well below 100% fitness.

One paddock insider expressed the opinion that riding a MotoGP bike is difficult enough at full fitness–any physical or mental weakness is a liability that increases the risk of crashing, and thus increases the chances of a crash involving other riders.

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MotoGP: Pedrosa (Probably) Present at Laguna Seca, Lorenzo (Probably) Absent…For the Moment, At Least

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Two days, two big highsides, and two championship contenders down and out. Friday and Saturday at the Sachsenring saw both Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa have massive crashes, and forced to withdraw from the race in Germany.

Jorge Lorenzo bent the titanium plate holding together the collarbone which he broke at Assen, while Dani Pedrosa suffered an imcomplete fracture of his collarbone, and had problems with blood pressure and dizziness.

Though both Pedrosa and Lorenzo were ruled out of the Sachsenring race, there was much speculation about whether either of the two would be racing at Laguna Seca next weekend.

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Saturday Summary at Sachsenring: Pedrosa’s Collarbone, A Hot-Rodded Rossi, & Asymmetric Tires

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How quickly things change. Yesterday, it looked like Jorge Lorenzo had handed the 2013 MotoGP championship to Dani Pedrosa on a plate, by crashing unnecessarily at Turn 10, and bending the titanium plate he had fitted to his collarbone after breaking it at Assen.

Today, Pedrosa did his best to level the playing field again, by pushing a little too hard on a cold tire at Turn 1, and being catapulted out of the saddle in a cold tire, closed throttle highside. He flew a long way, and hit the ground hard, coming up rubbing his collarbone much as Jorge Lorenzo had done.

He was forced to miss qualifying, and for most of the afternoon, it looked like he too could be forced to miss the Sachsenring race, and possibly also Laguna Seca.

At the end of the afternoon, the medical intervention team – a group of experienced Spanish emergency doctors who spend their free weekends hooning around race tracks in hot-rodded BMW M550d medical cars – gave a press conference to explain Pedrosa’s medical situation, and what had happened that afternoon.

Dr. Charte and Dr. Caceres told the media that Pedrosa had a huge crash, had walked away feeling dizzy, and had been rushed to the medical center. There, he had one X-ray on his collarbone, but just as he was about to have a second X-ray, his blood pressure dropped dramatically. The second X-ray was immediately aborted as the medical staff intervened to stabilize Pedrosa.

He was then flown to a local hospital, where he had a cranial MRI scan and a CT scan of his upper body, which showed that he had sustained no major injuries, apart from a partially fractured collarbone.

A neurological test turned up no signs of concussion, and the drop in blood pressure was probably just due to the force of the impact, a typical symptom of shock. He returned to the track, where he was examined again, and nothing abnormal showed up in that exam.

Will Pedrosa race tomorrow? That will be decided in the morning, firstly by Pedrosa himself, who must decide whether he wants to undergo a medical test, and then by the doctors performing the fairly full medical test, including an extensive neurological exam, aimed at ruling out any signs of concussion or nerve problems.

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MotoGP: Dani Pedrosa Misses Qualifying, Uncertain to Race

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Dani Pedrosa is in doubt for Sunday’s race after suffering a major highside on Saturday morning at the Sachsenring. The Repsol Honda man entered the slow right hander at Turn 1 on his first full flying lap when the rear of the bike came round on him, flinging him a long way off the bike.

Pedrosa fell heavily on his left shoulder – the shoulder he injured badly at Motegi in 2010, and then again at Le Mans in 2011, suffering complications until the end of the 2011 season. He got up holding his collarbone, and as rushed to the medical center.

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Friday Summary at Sachsenring: How a Simple Crash Can Change the Course of a Championship

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There’s an expression in the Dutch language, “een ongeluk zit in een klein hoekje,” which translates literally as “accidents hide in small corners.” It seems particularly relevant at the Sachsenring on Friday, as while there were crashes galore at Turn 11, the fast corner at the top of the long downhill run to the two final left handers, Jorge Lorenzo crashed at Turn 10, the uphill left which precedes Turn 11.

It is not much of a corner, just the last of the long sequence of left handers which proceed from the Omegakurve towards the top of the hill, and the plunge down the waterfall. But it was enough to bend the titanium plate holding Jorge Lorenzo’s collarbone together, and put him out of the German Grand Prix, and maybe Laguna Seca as well. That relatively minor corner may have ended Jorge Lorenzo’s championship hopes.

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MotoGP: Lorenzo Damages Collarbone in Crash, Won’t Race

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Jorge Lorenzo’s title hopes have suffered a major setback. The Spaniard crashed heavily during the second session of free practice at the Sachsenring, being thrown from his bike at Turn 10, the final left hander before the fast right hander at the top of the hill. Lorenzo fell on his left shoulder once again, getting up clearly in pain.

The reigning world champion was taken to the medical center, where scans suggested that his collarbone had sustained further damage. He was then transported to hospital, where further tests revealed the plate on his collarbone had become bent, and would have to be replaced.

Unlike Assen, however, Lorenzo will not make a dramatic return to the circuit, and is almost certain to skip both the Sachsenring race and the Laguna Seca round next weekend. That would give the Spaniard over a month to recover, in time for the following round of MotoGP at Indianapolis, in mid-August.

Bending the plate holding a collarbone together is a common occurrence amongst racers, even months or years after the original accident which required the plate to be fitted. A heavy crash on a plated collarbone will sometimes cause it to bend, requiring the plate to be replaced.

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Thursday Summary at Sachsenring: On Rossi’s Return, Pedrosa’s Invincibility, & Riding Injured

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The big question, of course, is can he do it again? After taking his first win in two-and-a-half years and 45 races (after Assen, there were a lot of tortuous calculations being made trying to squeeze the number ’46’ in somewhere) since his previous one, the question is, was it just a one-off or is Valentino Rossi capable of fighting for the win every weekend from now on?

It’s a tough call to make, but on the evidence so far, things are looking good for the Italian. Rossi’s braking problem appears to have been solved, allowing him to ride in the way he wants to. The front end tweaks which his crew chief Jeremy Burgess found at Aragon seem to have worked, and given Rossi confidence in braking again.

Just what those changes were? Matt Birt, writing over on the MCN website, has a full explanation of the changes made by Burgess, but the short version is that they found a solution to cope with the softer construction front Bridgestone tires introduced last year.

Revised fork innards, including changed shims, has made the first part of the fork travel a stiff enough to compensate for the softer tire construction, allowing him to brake harder, yet still turn the bike. Now able to enter corners as he wishes, he should be able to at least fight with the front runners from the start.

Being competitive and winning at the Sachsenring are two different things, however. While the Sachsenring is a track where Rossi has always done well – not like Mugello, perhaps, but still good enough – there is the small matter of Dani Pedrosa to deal with.

The Repsol Honda man has won the race for the last three years, and would have won a couple more with a little more luck. The man himself has no real explanation for why he is so fast around the circuit, other than remarking that he enjoys the corners around the track, but the fact remains that Pedrosa is nigh-on invincible around the Sachsenring.

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MotoGP: Alex De Angelis to Replace Ben Spies at Laguna – Spies Expected Back at Indianapolis GP

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Ben Spies’ absence due to his shoulder injury will extend to Laguna Seca. The Texan is still going through physical rehab to get the shoulder he injured at Sepang last year up to strength, and he hopes to be back to full fitness for the final US round of MotoGP at Indianapolis at the end of August.

With Spies still out for two more races, the Ignite Pramac team needs a replacement. Michele Pirro will take Spies’ place at the Sachsenring in just under two weeks’ time, but Ducati’s official test rider is not available for Laguna, as he has more testing scheduled that week at Misano in Italy.

As a result, Pramac has asked Alex De Angelis to step in for the Laguna Seca round, as the lack of a Moto2 round at Laguna means the NGM Forward rider is availabe to take Spies’ seat at the California circuit.

De Angelis already has MotoGP experience, having raced two seasons for the Gresini Honda team in 2008 and 2009, and having replaced Hiroshi Aoyama for three rounds in 2010.

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MotoGP: Jorge Lorenzo Returns to Assen, But Will He Race?

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Jorge Lorenzo is to return to Assen. The Yamaha press office issued yet another press release today, announcing that the reigning world champion will fly from Barcelona to Groningen airport, just a few kilometers from Assen, at 3pm, and then return to the Assen circuit.

The press release states solely that he wishes to ‘spend the remainder of the Grand Prix weekend with his team,’ but there is no doubt in anybody’s mind that he intends to try to race on Saturday. Before he can do that, he will have to undergo a medical examination to see if his collarbone is strong enough. We will know tomorrow morning.

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