Randy De Puniet continues recovery with “toughest” race of the year

Randy de Puniet rode to 13th in the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix on Sunday as the Frenchman continued to work his way back to full fitness from a broken left leg. The LCR Honda rider admitted after the 28-lap contest that he had found it more physically demanding than his first race back from injury at Brno two weeks previously.

“Honestly this was the toughest race for me since the beginning of the year... even more demanding than Brno!” said De Puniet. “This track has ten left-hand corners and six-right hand corners which make changing direction very punishing.”

“The surface is very bumpy and everybody struggled with grip levels. We tried to get the most from our bike and I even tried to change my riding style but at the end I could not find my pace. I am still holding eighth position in the standings and I am pretty sure that the next race we will be up there once again as I like Misano layout.”

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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Randy De Puniet “ready and confident” ahead of comeback

The LCR Honda rider is set to make a rapid return to action at Brno this weekend pending medical clearance on his recovering leg, and has told motogp.com that a test ride in France on Monday provided encouraging feedback on his fitness.

Randy de Puniet is set to make an impressive return to action just four weeks after fracturing the tibia and fibula in his left leg, as he prepares to ride at the Cardion ab Grand Prix Czech Republic this weekend. Provided the LCR Honda rider receives medical clearance on Thursday to compete he will take to the Brno track for Friday’s opening practice session, just 27 days after suffering his injury in the German GP.

In preparation for the weekend De Puniet conducted a private ride in southern France on Monday, in which he rode a Honda CBR1000 machine at Alés to see how his leg felt. After completing 30 laps the results were positive and have left the Frenchman in high spirits.

“I wanted to confirm I would be okay to ride and not just ride slowly, but fast. After the test I am very happy and also confident for this weekend,” explained De Puniet. “There was a small amount of pain in the first five laps but this is normal, especially with the ankle when changing gear. But by the end it was much better and most importantly I didn’t use any painkillers – I wanted to try it like that. I felt good, and that’s why I think I will be ready for this weekend.”

He continued: “I’m not worried and I don’t need to think about my injury this weekend, because if I do that then I will certainly be slower.”

Discussing his aims for round ten De Puniet is targeting a progressive weekend with the intention of adding to the 69 Championship points he has so far collected in an impressive season to date.

“I will try to take as many points as possible,” he said. “We will see how it goes during the practice and qualifying sessions. I will need to go step by step in each session, to work with my head, the most important thing is to be prepared for the race and to get the best result.”

“My target is to be the highest placed private rider at the end of the year, and that’s why it’s important to take points,” De Puniet concluded.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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Roger Lee Hayden - Positive Laguna experience

The American rode to 11th place in the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix for the LCR Honda team, enjoying his battle with fellow substitute rider Alex de Angelis.

Roger Lee Hayden’s weekend at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix was an all-round success for the American, who achieved 11th place on the RC212V of the LCR Honda team as he stood in for the injured Randy de Puniet at Laguna Seca.

The younger of the Hayden brothers improved throughout the round nine weekend, shaving just over 1.6s off his lap times from the first practice to qualifying. Finding the difference in the carbon front brakes used in MotoGP to the metal ones he is accustomed to in World SBK and the Bridgestone tyres two of the main challenges, the 27 year-old rose from 17th on the starting grid to take five Championship points in his second premier class race.

“This was a very good race for me! After the start I got boxed in at the first corner and after that it took me a few laps to find my pace. The rest of the guys had taken a few seconds on me but I started to pull them back in and I did my fastest lap of the whole weekend in doing so. I charged hard and caught De Angelis and with two laps to go I passed him and took 11th place,” said Hayden.

“At the start of the week I really did not think I could have taken 11th place. I really want to thank the LCR Team for this fantastic opportunity. Everybody in the team has bent over backwards to help me in every way. The guys worked really hard on the bike and made it very comfortable for me to ride. They put absolutely no pressure on me this weekend for a result but this is the American GP and all my friends, family and fans are here so I wanted to give them all a good result. I would love a chance to ride for this Team again as they are a fantastic bunch of guys and the machine they gave me was perfect.”

Team owner Lucio Cecchinello stated: “First I want to wish Randy a very quick recovery and want to thank the team for their great work this weekend. Despite the bad luck we have decided to come here and do our best as always. We are pleased with Roger’s result because he improved his feeling on the bike session by session and during the race he was focused and tough especially when he passed De Angelis with two laps to go. Now we aim to have Randy back in Brno but we must wait for the response of the Medical Commission first.”

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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Randy De Puniet recovering, Roger Lee Hayden to ride at Laguna Seca

Randy de Puniet underwent a successful two-hour operation on his left leg last night to insert a titanium rod, following fractures to his left tibia and fibula sustained in a crash in Sunday’s race at Sachsenring.

The surgery, organised by Doctor Claudio Costa from the Clinica Mobile along with Doctor Ulf Schendel and his medical team, was conducted at hospital in Hartmannsdorf where De Puniet was flown by helicopter from the circuit. LCR Honda have reported the operation as a positive one, and De Puniet will leave the hospital tomorrow (Tuesday, July 20th) to begin his rehabilitation with the aid of the Clinica Mobile.

“As riders we always risk crashing and breaking something, but it’s always when you are not thinking about crashing that you do,” said De Puniet. “When Kallio accidentally hit my leg after I crashed I immediately knew I had a serious problem. However, the surgery went very well and now I am feeling better. I want to thank Doctor Costa and all the medical staff here for the good job they did. They say that I need a six-week recovery period before starting to race again, but I will try my best to be back in Brno (August 15th).”

LCR Honda have also officially confirmed that Roger Lee Hayden, younger brother of 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky, will ride the team’s satellite RC212V at the Red Bull US Grand Prix this weekend. The agreement, which has been facilitated by American Honda, means Roger Lee Hayden will ride in his second MotoGP race at the circuit – one he knows well – having ridden to tenth place there in 2007 on a Kawasaki.

LCR Honda Team Manager Lucio Cecchinello said: “I was a rider and injured myself several times so I understand Randy’s condition and how he feels. I am still here with him at the hospital and Doctor Costa and Doctor Ulf are very confident about his recovery. He is a tough rider and I am sure he will be back soon.”

“After yesterday’s bad news we had a meeting with Randy and Honda to take a decision for the following race,” continued Cecchinello. “Despite this unfortunate experience we decided to go on with our job and we agreed to replace Randy for the US GP. Thanks to the cooperation from Nicky Hayden and Kevin Schwantz, we went for the best choice: Roger Lee Hayden. He has plenty of experience at Laguna Seca and we will do our best to support him.”

Roger Lee Hayden commented: “First of all I want to wish Randy a speedy recovery. It’s never nice to see another rider on the sidelines due to injury. I'm very happy that LCR has chosen me to fill in for Randy this weekend at Laguna Seca. It is a track I like a lot and I hope to do a good job for the team and for all the American fans. I want to thank Team Pedercini for giving me the okay, and everyone else involved for helping with this great opportunity.”

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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Randy de Puniet was the victim of two separate incidents

Randy de Puniet was the victim of two separate incidents of bad luck at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland this weekend, as he fractured the tibia and fibula in his left leg on Sunday in a crash.

De Puniet had a highly unfortunate fall in qualifying on Saturday when his LCR Honda RC212V lost grip in spilt oil, and as the Frenchman slid off the track he hit Ben Spies’ prone bike and hurt his right leg.

Braving the pain to ride today De Puniet then had a crash on lap nine of the race which resulted in the contest being red flagged, and after being examined at the Clinica Mobile fractures to his the tibia and fibula of his left leg were diagnosed.

“It could not be worse than this!” said the 29 year-old. “I had a bad start from the third row but got back up to ninth and my race pace was pretty good. I was able to push for sixth place despite my painful ankle after yesterday’s qualifying crash.”

“Suddenly I crashed at the exit of turn four and a bike hit my left leg. I immediately knew it was serious and we then found out the true extent after the X-rays.”

De Puniet was flown from the circuit to hospital in Hartmannsdorf with Doctor Claudio Costa, where he will this evening have surgery on his injured leg to insert a pin, and the French rider now faces an as-yet unknown period out while he recovers.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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Randy de Puniet heads for surgery, Espargaro crack

Randy de Puniet's nightmare German MotoGP weekend ended with the Frenchman heading for surgery on Sunday evening after fracturing his left leg.

de Puniet had been the innocent victim of Jorge Lorenzo's oil spill during Saturday qualifying and race day brought further bad luck when the LCR Honda rider fell from ninth place, on lap nine, and sustained fractures to his tibia and fibula.

The Frenchman's LCR Honda came to a halt on the track, where it burst into flames after being struck by Pramac's Aleix Espargaro and Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista. de Puniet was then hit by another rider, causing the leg injuries.

de Puniet left the circuit by helicopter together with Doctor Costa of the Clinica Mobile and will undergo surgery at Hartmannsdorf hospital, where a pin will be inserted into his left leg.

The injury is very similar to that suffered by world champion Valentino Rossi at Mugello. Rossi made his comeback at Sachsenring, after a recovery time of six weeks, meaning de Puniet - the top satellite rider in the championship - is likely to miss at least the next two races.

“It can't be worse than this!" said a dejected de Puniet. "I took a bad start from the third row but I got back to ninth and my race pace was looking pretty good.

"I was pushing for sixth place, despite pain in my left ankle after yesterday's crash in qualifying. Suddenly I crashed at exit of turn four and another bike hit my left leg.

"I immediately realised that it was something serious and after the X-ray we discovered the truth.”

Espargaro and Bautista were not allowed to take part in the restart as both failed to return to pit lane with their bikes within the allowed five-minute window after the showing of the red flag.

Espargaro then went for scans, which revealed a cracked C6 vertebra, although it is not yet clear if it is a new or old injury.

"Unfortunately I found de Puniet's bike that was lying on the track in front of me and I could not avoid it," he said. "My bike has brought too much damage in the accident and I was not able to bring it back to the box again.

"I had a big pain in my right wrist and in my neck and while in Chemnitz's hospital, where I was taken to have further checks, they found that my vertebra is broken.

"Tonight we will send the x-ray to Spain so that my doctor can see them and check if it is new or old fracture. I am confident and I hope to attend the upcoming US Grand Prix." 

Source: http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/

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Randy De Puniet targeting top six after escaping crash

Randy de Puniet finished in an impressive seventh place after completing only 35 minutes of qualifying at Sachsenring on Saturday, following a crash which ended his participation in the hour-long session.

Losing grip on his LCR Honda RC212V machine due to spilt oil from Jorge Lorenzo’s bike, the Frenchman hit Ben Spies’ bike after the American had also gone down on the greasy track surface.

De Puniet admitted that he initially feared he had broken his right ankle, but after X-rays at the Clinica Mobile it was confirmed there were no fractures or breaks and he was given the all-clear to race tomorrow.

“I didn’t know Jorge’s engine had gone and I was about two seconds behind Spies and he fell at the braking point, just before the first corner. Just after that I crashed too. I arrived so fast in the gravel and the problem was Spies’ bike in the middle of the run-off… I hit the bike with my right ankle,” explained De Puniet.

“It was extremely painful. After that I went to the Clinica Mobile and I thought my ankle was broken, but in the end it’s not. It was a big impact and I’m lucky. That’s racing, and I’m seventh on the grid after only half an hour of the session, so I can be satisfied even if I think the front row could have been possible today.”

Asked about the prospect of a gruelling 30-lap contest tomorrow De Puniet replied: “It will be hard but I think I will be able to get through the race. I have already ridden in difficult conditions, especially last year. But I will do my best and we will see where I finish. I will try to take as many points as possible tomorrow.”

Currently fifth in the Championship standings – level on 69 points with fourth-placed Nicky Hayden – De Puniet is determined not to concede ground and wants to maintain his consistency in results.

“We will see tomorrow in the warm-up but I think my target will be to finish in the top six,” he concluded.

Source: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/

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