Assen: Fun and games in FP1
Discussion
Well, first the good news: Stoner at the top of the time sheet but Rossi only 0.046 seconds behind (omen?).
Pedrosa has a little off-track excursion but managed to stay on the bike. Tony Elias wasn't quite as lucky as he was rushed off to hospital with a broken femur, which looks like it may have ended his season.
Hayden posted 3rd fastest, followed by Edwards and Hoffman(!).
Pedrosa has a little off-track excursion but managed to stay on the bike. Tony Elias wasn't quite as lucky as he was rushed off to hospital with a broken femur, which looks like it may have ended his season.
Hayden posted 3rd fastest, followed by Edwards and Hoffman(!).
..nasty....I have been waiting on some more of the fine flashes of form from his last season. He certainly is non plussed about drifting into corners....which is nice....
Elias has broken his leg in FP2.
Autosport said:
Elias could be out for the season after suffering a badly fractured leg in a crash. The incident started out as a fairly innocent lowside, but matters took a turn for the worse when he reached the gravel trap and started tumbling. The Spaniard is currently undergoing operations in hospital with reports suggesting that up to 14-centimetres of his left femur has been shattered after getting caught up underneath his Honda machine.
Ahead of Friday night's regular meeting of MotoGP's Safety Commission, Rossi said that he would likely call for revisions to be made to the track before next year's race.
"The problem is the gravel trap is too deep compared to those at Mugello and Barcelona," said the Fiat Yamaha rider. "So when a body arrives, there is a bigger crash because the gravel is too deep.
"The gravel gets very high and this is the problem for me. Toni was unlucky and in pain. We have to try to make it better."
They are already mentioning James Toseland's name for filling in when he can, but considering the way the Bridgestone Honda has been going I think he'll politely turn it down for now.Ahead of Friday night's regular meeting of MotoGP's Safety Commission, Rossi said that he would likely call for revisions to be made to the track before next year's race.
"The problem is the gravel trap is too deep compared to those at Mugello and Barcelona," said the Fiat Yamaha rider. "So when a body arrives, there is a bigger crash because the gravel is too deep.
"The gravel gets very high and this is the problem for me. Toni was unlucky and in pain. We have to try to make it better."
I think I'm going to hurl. ""I tried to put it back in position even though the pain was tremendous."
Bike racers are tough guys.
Bike racers are tough guys.
Crash.net said:
The 24-year-old fractured his left femur during Thursday morning's first free practice session at Assen; the Spaniard losing the front of his Gresini Honda through the fast sequence of left handers that end the lap. Elias initially slid harmlessly across the asphalt, but when he reached the gravel trap he was pitched into an awkward tumble - causing the damage.
"I knew I'd broken my leg straight away," recalled Elias. "I tried to put it back in position even though the pain was tremendous. Hopefully I can recover quickly and be back on track soon. I also want to thank all the Clinica Mobile staff for their help and support."
After visiting the Clinica Mobile, where the fracture was diagnosed, Elias was transferred to the Wilhelmina hospital in Assen for further checks and was operated on this afternoon. Doctor Costa accompanied the 2006 grand prix winner throughout and stated that Toni will need three months to recover, meaning Elias might not ride again until the last three races of the season. In a twist of fate, Elias also missed last year's Dutch TT after injuring his shoulder in exactly the same session.
"I'm really upset about Toni's crash and hope that he gets better and returns to join us soon," said team-mate Marco Melandri.
While Elias recovers, speculation will now inevitably begin as to who might ride his Bridgestone-shod RC212V in the forthcoming events - with Briton's Neil Hodgson likely to be high on any list, alongside Honda's WSBK and BSB stars.
"I knew I'd broken my leg straight away," recalled Elias. "I tried to put it back in position even though the pain was tremendous. Hopefully I can recover quickly and be back on track soon. I also want to thank all the Clinica Mobile staff for their help and support."
After visiting the Clinica Mobile, where the fracture was diagnosed, Elias was transferred to the Wilhelmina hospital in Assen for further checks and was operated on this afternoon. Doctor Costa accompanied the 2006 grand prix winner throughout and stated that Toni will need three months to recover, meaning Elias might not ride again until the last three races of the season. In a twist of fate, Elias also missed last year's Dutch TT after injuring his shoulder in exactly the same session.
"I'm really upset about Toni's crash and hope that he gets better and returns to join us soon," said team-mate Marco Melandri.
While Elias recovers, speculation will now inevitably begin as to who might ride his Bridgestone-shod RC212V in the forthcoming events - with Briton's Neil Hodgson likely to be high on any list, alongside Honda's WSBK and BSB stars.
Edited by FourWheelDrift on Thursday 28th June 20:32
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