Rossi out for at least 3 months after practice crash

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The crash was strange. It was a wicked high side during his second lap out of the garage in FP2. He was in a series of curves, but not in a technically difficult spot. He was probably traveling close to 200 kph. Nicky Hayden was following.

What it looked like to me is that there was a mechanical failure. The bike catapulted Rossi into the air and went tumbling. Rossi was obviously very seriously hurt and he was doped up and helicoptered to Florence to the hospital.

If anyone will get the best care available, Rossi is the man. But I agree with the Soup article which says he won't be back soon. A total break of the lower leg will take a while, especially for an older rider :), like Rossi.

I won't talk about QP because there are probably folks who would consider it spoiling, but this accident would seem like a fair topic for discussion since it is a news item unrelated to the specific race.

Personally, it looked to me like he was minding his own business, running cleanly, when suddenly the bike coughed on an engine part, or possibly on a software issue. They were speculating about tires being too cool on just the second lap, but it didn't look like he was asking a lot of the tires. The bike just cartwheeled. His line was straight enough to approach 200 kph, so I guess we'll have to wait and see if anyone publishes an "official cause."

Rossi also had other troubles on his return home this week. There were death threats. Someone was supposedly arrested on Thursday in conjunction with this. And then there was the Mohawk haircut. Looked pretty silly to me, but then ..... he didn't get it to please me.

 
Wow that just sucks! You always hope your favorite racer or any racer will have to go through something like this but

unfortunately it seems to be the nature of the beast.

Reddog

 
They have some new video footage that can be viewed for free at www.motogp.com. From this angle it looks more like it could have been a front end problem, rather than some other issue. Maybe they're right about the heat in the tires. Moto GP's official news is still saying broken Tibia, rather than broken Tibia and Fibula. I wonder if there are other injuries. A crash at this speed could do a lot of damage.

Rossi had lead the field at the end of FP1. He is far and away my favorite motorcycle racer, and up until this accident, I think it would be fair to call him a legitimate "iron man."

 
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Well that just SUCKS! Rossi was one reason I like to watch MotoGP on Speed TV. Maybe Spies will step it up.

Tom

 
Crashing sucks.

:D ;)

That blows. It's like Kobe Bryant breaking a leg in the finals...
Uhhhh......me thinks a lot of peeps wouldn't necessarily think that would be a bad thing. :unsure:
Yeah, I'm born and bred in Boston and bleed green this time of year, but I figured all the West Coast Lakers fans wouldn't have a clue who Kevin Garnet is. :p So I picked somebody they heard of.

 
I'm sorry for Rossi, and I'm sorry for the season, because he was doing well and I don't think his competitors want to benefit from his injury. But as they are fond of saying, "That's racing." This opens it up for others, including Nicky.

 
I relate. I was in the running for the OTHG grand champion season in 89. Then I crashed my brains out. Funny, no Internet coverage for my big crash.. :unsure:

Rossi has a decision to make - this may well be the end.

 
I relate. I was in the running for the OTHG grand champion season in 89. Then I crashed my brains out. Funny, no Internet coverage for my big crash.. :unsure:
Rossi has a decision to make - this may well be the end.
They didn't have an internet to speak of in 1989 Don. You are an old fart. I think the teletype machines were humming though!

 
Surgery went well. Other injuries ruled out. Only Tibia, not Tibia and Fibula, discussed in medical reports. A pin was used to put it back together. The wound will be closed with another surgery in a few days. Hospitalization for maybe a week or so. 6 weeks to weight bearing and reassessment.

Rossi will be out of the hunt for this season.

In warmup this morning.... oh yeah, ..... that's a spoiler....

FWIW, they are blaming his tire temperature for the high side. Second lap out of the garage was too soon to expect what he asked from the tires according to this morning's analysis. The race is in less than 4 hours. I better grab a few quick winks.

 
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