Lorenzo sustains foot injuries in Californian crash

Fiat Yamaha´s Jorge Lorenzo faces a race to be fit for Brno in a month´s time following his spectacular first-lap crash at Laguna Seca, which resulted in broken third and fifth metatarsal bones in his left foot.

The young Spanish double 250cc World Champion has suffered a number of recent crashes and his debut American race ended in disaster after just five turns when he high-sided and ended up in the gravel, causing an audible, collective gasp from the huge crowd at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix.

The 21 year-old had made a good start and was looking promising in fourth place when the accident happened and it was immediately obvious that he had injured himself, a depressing realisation for a rider who has already had to cope with two broken ankles and a heavy concussion this season.

With the summer break coming before the next race, however, the outlook is not totally bleak for the exciting MotoGP rookie, who has flown home already for further assessment in Barcelona this week.

Commenting on his tough day at the office Lorenzo, revealed, `I´m very sad today because I had a lot of confidence for the race, after the qualifying session yesterday and, above all, after the very start of the race when I was fourth and feeling good. Then I crashed. My tyre was not up to temperature, I lost the rear and the next thing I knew I was in the gravel, with pain in my foot.´

`It is another crash, another injury and it´s another moment that I have to forget as soon as possible. I need to look forward. I am so sad but now I must concentrate on the fact that I have a whole month before Brno in order to be fit and to be able to race in good shape.´

For Lorenzo´s Team Manager Daniele Romagnoli it was hard to remain positive, but he remarked, `Unfortunately today´s result is not what Jorge and the team deserved, after the progress we made in practice. We could have gone for a better result, but the main problem today was the lack of grip on the rear, which was amplified at the beginning of the race when the tyres were not yet at the optimum temperature.´

`Now let´s hope for a good rest for Jorge. We wish him a good recovery and we look forward to seeing him come back at Brno ready to fight again with the top riders.´