Jerez was a tough round for MotoGP riders. Stefan Bradl suffered severe arm pump during the race on Sunday, where he finished in 10th place. But it seems that Dani Pedrosa was also suffering from a similar problem, despite riding to 3rd — just short Valentino Rossi.
With the 2011 MotoGP season concluding in Valencia this weekend, the 2012 MotoGP season got underway with its first testing session, also held at the Spanish track. A glimpse into the re-established 1,000cc era, perhaps the most anticipated unveiling was Ducati Corse’s aluminum perimeter-style frame, dubbed the GP0. Just one step in the long process of addressing the Ducati Desmosedici’s front-end feeling problem, Ducati Corse’s latest incarnation of a MotoGP chassis has been rumored for some time now.
With all eyes in the GP paddock looking to see if a the conventional frame design would be the silver bullet to Ducati’s woes, the testing sessions in Valencia have been interesting to say the least. With everyone playing Monday Morning Pit Boss over Ducati Corse’s issues, the past two days of tests have been important for Ducati Corse to understand the issues inherent in their design, as well as establishing what the teams does, and does not, know.
James Toseland announced his immediate retirement from racing today, citing irreprable damage to his wrist after an early 2011 testing injury at Aragon. The two-time World Superbike champion had been riding for BMW Motorrad Italia in the 2011 season, but had sat out a number of races after an intricate and difficult injury left him with pins and a reduced range of motion in his right wrist. Toseland competed in MotoGP in 2008 and 2009, never finishing on the podium or winning pole.
On his Facebook page, Toseland wrote, “Difficult day today. Another visit to the Consultant about my wrist has brought bad news. It’s with sadness that I tell you I’ve been forced to retire from racing and I wanted you to be the first to know.” He continued, “I’ve been fortunate to enjoy a successful career in racing and one of the highlights has been the support from all of you. Thank you, I am truly grateful.”
Despite riding in the first practice session of the World Superbike round at Brno Friday, James Toseland will miss his third consecutive round of racing for the BMW Motorrad Italia team. The Briton sat out Misano and Motorland Aragon after also missing Donington Park, Assen, and Monza due to complications from a wrist injury he sustained while testing at Aragon in March. Though Spanish doctors quickly cleared him to race after the crash, Toseland underwent an operation to insert wires in his wrist soon thereafter when it became clear that there was a disruption in blood flow to his hand.
“My wrist started to hurt again after [racing at] Salt Lake,” said Toseland a month ago, adding, “I’m determined to make a come back in Brno.” He did ride during this morning’s practice at the Czech round, finishing eighteenth fastest. After the session Toseland was force to admit, “Had a run out this morning to get upto speed, unfortunately I have to sit out the rest of the weekend and get fully fit for Silverstone.” He continued, ” [Lorenzo] Lanzi will fill in for the remainder of the weekend,” as he did at Misano and Aragon.
James Toesland will miss at least the next two rounds of World Superbike racing, with continued complications from an injury he sustained in mid-March. The British rider was testing at Motorland Aragon for BMW Motorrad Italia when he crashed, landing on his head and right wrist. It has been a saga of recovery for the former champion, with Spanish doctors originally clearing him to race.
However, Toseland soon found that he had displaced bones cutting off the blood flow to his hand and underwent surgery to insert wires in his wrist. He missed both rounds at Donington Park and Assen and did not race at Monza, though he did participate in practice sessions. Now, Toseland will also miss Misano this weekend and the round at Aragon June 19. “I’m determined to make a come back in Brno,” said Toseland.
Despite the . Having to make the difficult choice between being a human fireball and hitting the tarmac at 120 MPH, Rea opted for the latter, ditched his firing stead, fractured his wrist, and injured his hand & arm in the process.
Now with video of the frightening event, we get a glimpse into the crash that nearly sidelined the British rider, who will still ride in Sunday’s World Superbike season opener at Phillip Island. We generally don’t like our motorcycles on fire, and there’s something very creepy about watching Rea’s Castrol Honda CBR1000RR do a ghostride into a barricade. While unconfirmed reports say Colin Edwards has welcomed Rea to the club, check after the jump for Rea’s personal message to Arai Helmets.
John Ulrich, the man behind both Team Hammer and publication Roadracing World, seems to be content on airing his dirty laundry about rider John Hopkins on the WERA board this week. In his postings, Ulrich accuses Hopkins of keeping secret his hand’s deteriorated condition, and misrepresenting his physical fitness and readiness for the 2010 season. This issue has lead to Ulrich saying he won’t work with Hopkins ever again, despite Ulrich discovering the Anglo-American rider at a young age, and essentially jump-starting his motorcycle racing career.
If true, these acts and omissions could amount to fraud and misrepresentation on Hopkins’ part, and our sources tell us Monster Energy Drink is less than enthralled about Ulrich failing to take proper due diligence before signing the rider.
Crashing during Saturday’s qualifying session at Brno, Nicky Hayden found himself in the gravel trap after losing the front-end of his Ducati Desmosedici GP10. Somewhere along the way of sliding over the asphalt and into the stones, Hayden broke off a portion of his radius bone in his left wrist, and had to be taken to Clinica Mobile for examination.
X-rays confirmed the break, but the American rider soldiered-on through the Czech GP with extra padding on his grip. Finishing the race in respectable form, Hayden will have to heal up over the next two weekends if he wants to be 100% for his hometown GP at Indy. More pictures after the jump.
