Defending champion Jorge Lorenzo has undergone surgery on his left collarbone after breaking it during practice for this weekend’s Dutch MotoGP at Assen.
After Thursday’s accident, Lorenzo was flown to Barcelona where he had a two-hour operation to insert a “titanium plate with eight screws to secure the fragments of the collarbone”, according to surgeon Michele Zasa.
Yamaha team manager Wilco Zeelenberg said they were yet to determine how long the 2010 and 2012 champion would be out.
Lorenzo is second in the standings behind fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa’s hopes of wresting back the world title momentum were increased after Lorenzo’s high-speed crash.
Reigning world champion Lorenzo arrived in Assen with back-to-back wins in Spain and Italy, and the Spaniard had laid down a marker by topping the times in Thursday’s first practice session.
But in the second session, fate – and rain – intervened to leave the Yamaha rider nursing a fractured left collarbone after being flung from his bike at 200km/h.
While Lorenzo recovers from his surgery this weekend, Pedrosa will be intent on extending his slim seven-point lead in the riders’ standings.
Pedrosa, yet to wear the MotoGP crown after three near misses, is out to take the chequered flag after two close runner-up finishes to his arch-rival in the past two races.
And Assen holds fond memories for the Honda man.
“I have raced here many times. My win here was my first ever and I have very good memories from that day,” Pedrosa said.
“The championship is now closer but there is still a long way to go; we must keep going with the points. It looks like the weather will be a big thing and we’ll just have to adapt to the situation.”
With Lorenzo out of the picture, Yamaha’s hopes are represented by multiple former champion Valentino Rossi, who came fifth in Spain and is optimistic of a good showing in Assen after a positive testing session last week.
“I am very happy about the test in Aragon and I’m looking forward to going to Assen,” the nine-time title winner told the sport’s official website.
“The settings that we tested were positive and I now (have) more feeling with the bike, especially when braking. For me, it is an important step and I really want to try the new set-up on another track.”
Going into the seventh leg of the MotoGP season, Pedrosa leads the riders’ standings on 123 points from Lorenzo (116), Marc Marquez (93), Cal Crutchlow (71) and Rossi (60).