After discovering his knee injury to be more extensive than previously though, Christopher Vermeulen will miss World Superbike’s stop at Valencia this weekend, but is expected to be back on the saddle at Assen. Vermeulen injured his knee during a bad highside at Phillip Island, and was unable to rejoin the series at Portimao despite making an attempt during the free practice. As such, it looks like the Australian rider will be replaced this weekend at Valencia.
After hoping he could make a return to World Superbike by the Portimao round, Christopher Vermeulen has had to resign today from taking part in the weekend’s races. The Australian rider has been nursing an injured knee since his crash at season opener at Phillip Island, and apparently is unable to ride around the injury this week at Portimao. Check his video on the announcement after the jump.
After a nasty crash during Race 2 of World Superbike’s stop at Phillip Island, Christopher Vermeulen will not have to undergo surgery on his knee, meaning the Australian rider could compete in the upcoming Portimao race that is on March 28th. Vermeulen reportedly doesn’t have full movement of his leg, but the he still hopes to be on his PBM Kawasaki at the Portugese track, gobbling up points in what he hopes could be a run for the WSBK Championship. See Chris talk about his condition after the jump.
After injuring his hand earlier this year, Jorge Lorenzo has been sitting out MotoGP’s testing days, trying to recover in time for the upcoming season. Now leaving a post on his Facebook page, Lorenzo confirms that he will be at the Qatar test later next month. Surely with this message, all eyes will be trained on the Middle-Eastern track, looking for the first signs that Lorenzo will be able to dethrone the reigning World Champion Rossi.
Fiat-Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo has undergone surgery to his right hand, after injuring it while riding on a motocross course near his home in Barcelona on Thursday. The injury will mean that Lorenzo will not participate in the next Sepang test, but he is expected to make a full recovery in time for the Qatar test in March.
It looks like Aleix Espargaro will be replacing Niccolo Canpea a little bit earlier than planned at the Pramac Ducati team. Canepa, who was scheduled to lose his ride to Espargaro after the final round of MotoGP, has just announced that he won’t be racing at Valencia because he is still recovering from his skin transplant caused be his crash at Phillip Island a month ago.
John Hopkins, in a recent video posted on his personal website (not for the weak-stomached), has declared that he is uncertain where he will land for the 2010 racing season. With things at Stiggy Honda beginning to look bleak, it seems clear that the team will be unable to afford both Leon Haslam and John Hopkins next year. Haslam is rumored to be headed fro Alstate Suzuki, while Hopper has been keen on getting back into MotoGP.
Although initial reports suggested that John Hopkins went relatively unscathed after his crash at the Nürburgring (video above), .
Frenchman Randy de Puniet has broken his ankle while training on his motorcross bike. Riding with three-time World Champion Yves De Maria, de Puniet hit the ground while going through a turn. The injury required de Puniet to have an operation, and he now has screws in-place to hold the fracture. With only two weeks remaining in MotoGP’s little summer siesta, Randy will clearly not be 100% when MotoGP resumes at Brno on August 16th.
No word yet as to whether de Puniet was wearing a helmet, or if he had his shirt on.
Source: MotoGP Hotties
In Germany to watch the MotoGP race, John Hopkins answered questions to the recent news that he had been diagnosed with osteoporosis. Thankfully for the young American rider, that initial report that he had the bone disease was wrong, as a later test proved.
Hopper went on to confirm that, “I’ll be at Brno with my Stiggy Honda.”
It looks like both Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner will race tomorrow in the US GP at Laguna Seca. After both riders suffered high-sides during today’s qualifying sessions, they have made announcements that they intend to race, but will ride injured.