Bad Luck Strikes on Friday the 13th for the Pramac Dántin
riders at the Sachsenring GP
The tenth round of the MotoGP World Championship began in
Germany today, with both Riders suffering injuries and misfortune
throughout the first day of free practice.
Alex Barros had a horrific highside in the morning session
which resulted in a deep gash to his right hand after being
caught under the motorcycle as they slid down the track. When
they reached the gravel trap, the bike then flipped over Barros
once again and somersaulted four times before coming to a
rest. Barros was able to reach the Clinica Mobile medical
center almost immediately, and their doctors performed an
amazing job of halting the damage which enabled the Brazilian
to ride later that afternoon. The afternoon practice session
went much better for Barros, as he continued to test various
settings and ultimately set a fast laptime of 1’53.548
that gave everyone hope for a competitive race pace on Sunday.
Earlier in the week, Alex Hofmann was also struck by bad luck
when he experienced a bizarre auto accident that required
surgery to his right hand. Despite the swelling and discomfort,
Hofmann was able to ride today, and he is sure to give his
very all at his home race, riding his Ducati Desmosedici with
superb determination.
Alex Barros (1’23.548 – 22 laps): “I’m
satisfied with this afternoon’s result, especially considering
the heavy crash I had in the morning. The bike is working
well now, and I’ve got a good feeling thanks to the
adjustments we made this afternoon. I was able to ride with
confidence during the second session, and push for a good
race pace. Unfortunately I couldn’t try too many things,
because after my fall in the morning I lost almost all of
the first free practice session. I don’t really know
what happened, but I’m quite sure that the bike had
some kind of problem. From the first turn I felt that something
was a little off, but I continued on the lap. When I arrived
at the fastest turn on the track, the bike slipped out from
under me and I went down hard. It was a bad accident because
my right hand was trapped under the bike, and as we slid off
track I lost some meat from my right hand. In this case I
would like to say thanks to the clinica mobile’s doctors
for the excellent job they did. I’ve now got stiches
and a rubber tube inserted to relieve the pressure and fluid
build-up in my hand, and because of this, I was able to get
back out on the track today. When I first got up from the
crash, I knew I had hurt my hand pretty badly, and after I
took off my glove, I thought I wouldn’t be able to ride.
I’m in pain, but I’m a warrior, and I’m
happy to be able to continue racing this weekend.
Alex Hofmann (1’23.856 – 21 laps):
“I wanted to be at top condition for this race, but
last week I had a strange accident to my right hand and now
I can’t ride like I want to. In spite of this, I’m
just happy to be riding, because I wasn’t sure I would
be able to compete this weekend. This is my home race, and
for me it’s very important to be here on track. Fortunately,
after an operation, my hand isn’t so bad and thanks
to my physiotherapy I can ride without too many difficulties.
Today we didn’t make a lot of laps because we wanted
to fully understand my physical condition first, but in the
end it was a positive day because we found a good base set-up
that gives me confidence. I’m sure that tomorrow we
will improve.
Official Time:
1° Casey Stoner: 1’22.737
2° Valentino Rossi: 1’23.083
3° Dani Pedrosa: 1’23.366
4° Silvayn Giuntoli: 1’23.387
5° Carlos Checa: 1’23.413
7° Alex Barros: 1’23.548
13° Alex Hofmann: 1’23.856
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