Not for the first time this season, Jorge “Mad George” Lorenzo has parted company with his Yamaha in a big way.
At Sunday’s US MotoGP, he was bucked off his bike on the high side - one of the worst types of crash for a rider - and ended up in the gravel trap.Lorenzo broke a couple of bones in his left foot in the incident, and now faces a race to be fit for the next GP, at Brno next month.
This is Mad George’s third major injury of the season: he fractured his right leg and both ankles in a spectacular crash in China in May, and suffered concussion and a hand injury in a practice crash at Barcelona in June.
1. Valentino Rossi The Doctor is back again, after a seven-race winless streak - ah, we never doubted him. The Italian maestro hardly put a wheel wrong in Shanghai, and is deservedly the new bookies’ favourite for the title. Great to see him back on the podium’s top step.
2. & 3. Charlie Cox & Steve Parrish The BBC’s MotoGP first-class commentary duo continue to entertain, inform and excite – they complement each other so well. We’d like to see them involved somehow in the Beeb’s F1 coverage next season.
This could have been, so much worse, had Lorenzo landed on his neck or head. As we reported in the post above, he was very lucky to escaped with a chipped ankle bone and bruising.
Valentino Rossi, who is Lorenzo’s team-mate at Yamaha, didn’t like what he saw from the garage: “Mama mia, I have to ride that thing too?” That said, Lorenzo is on Michelin tyres, whilst Rossi uses Bridgestone – and this incident looked like it might have been tyre-related.
MotoGP championship co-leader breaks ankle, doubtful for Sunday
Shanghai, China: Ouch, that’s gonna hurt in the morning. This great photo shows Jorge Lorenzo parting company with his Yamaha during the first practice session for this Sunday’s China MotoGP. The 20-year-old Spaniard, currently riding high in the Grid Crasher Power Rankings, fractured a bone in his left ankle and suffered severe trauma and bruising to parts of his right ankle and foot as a result of the high-side accident, which occurred at the exit of the first corner.
NFL star Randy Moss (pictured) plans to start his own Nascar Craftsman Truck team in 2009. At the moment he lacks a manufacturer, a driver and a sponsor. Apart from that, he’s good to go. [Jalopnik]
Herr Max Mosley has failed in his bid to prevent the French enjoying his “Nazi orgy” sex video. Merde! [ITV]
We rank the hottest racers and riders in the world of motorsport
1. Kimi Raikkonen (F1)
Drove what he claimed was his best race to win in Spain last weekend, and could have gone faster if necessary. Leads the F1 drivers’ championship and now looks totally at ease in his Ferrari. A worthy No.1 in our inaugural rankings.
2. Troy Bayliss (World Superbikes)
Continued his relentless charge towards a third Superbikes world title with back-to-back wins at Assen. The 39-year-old Aussie is now 70 points ahead of his nearest rival, an uprecedented lead at this stage of the season.
Super Aguri may be forced out of Formula One after a potential investor pulled the plug on a multi-million pound deal. The struggling Japanese team (look in the dictionary under “backmarker” and you’ll see a Super Aguri car, probably being lifted from a track), which has been absent from testing in Barcelona this week, could miss next week’s Spanish Grand Prix after owner Aguri Suzuki admitted he will have to “consider the future of the team”. Without Aguri, who will Fernando Alonso have to overtake? [Telegraph]
Spanish prodigy wins maiden MotoGP in Portugal, and other scorchingly hot news
Move over Valentino Rossi, there’s a new genius in leathers. Jorge Lorenzo won his first senior MotoGP race, at Estoril on Sunday. It was only his third grand prix. The Spaniard now leads the championship, alongside compatriot Dani Pedrosa. As you can see from the photo above, young Jorge’s not afraid to spray his victory champagne prematurely, and all over a hotpants-wearing grid girl. Not the hair! This kid will go far. Crash.net has a more detailed race report.
