Lorenzo Could Miss Qatar Test As Well As Sepang

Each year, it seems, at least one title candidate manages to injure themselves in an accident and miss testing and preparation for the upcoming MotoGP season. In 2010, it appears to be Jorge Lorenzo's turn - the Fiat Yamaha rider got unlucky in a low-speed motocross crash and fractured a bone in his right hand at the end of last week. At the time, Yamaha reported that they expected Lorenzo to be forced to miss the second test at Sepang due to take next week. 

Lorenzo returned to hospital for an examination yesterday, and though the injury and the surgery to fix the problem appears to be healing well, it may be more than just the Sepang test that Lorenzo misses. According to an interview with Hector Martin, Lorenzo's media handler, on the official MotoGP.com website, the injury may not heal fast enough for Lorenzo to take part in the final test session of the year at Qatar, on March 18th and 19th. "At the moment there are serious doubts as to whether Jorge will be fully recovered for the Qatar test," Martin told MotoGP.com "We must wait and see how his injury and rehabilitation go after he has his stitches removed, which will be next Friday or Monday."

The injury to Lorenzo highlights the risks of the limited testing program in MotoGP. With just three tests before the start of the season, a single accident with an awkward injury can mean that a rider can miss a significant chunk of testing. In previous years, when there were 6 or 7 tests a year, Lorenzo might already have had 3 tests under his belt before suffering injury, instead of just 1. To counter this argument, the proponents of the limited tests (mainly the manufacturers) point out that this is the same for everyone, and that at least the measure is fair. It does raise the potential risk of training activities such as motocross, but as we saw last year, when Valentino Rossi injured his foot in a domestic accident, even sitting at home can be harmful. Living is a dangerous business.

Though Lorenzo's testing activities have been necessarily curtailed, his promotional work will continue. The Spaniard is due to fly out for a tour of Indonesia from February 27th to March 2nd, to further help bolster Yamaha's position in the booming Indonesian market.