Henny Ray Abrams | July 4, 2009
Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo will wait until the morning before deciding whether he’ll start from the pole in Sunday’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix.The Majorcan set the fastest time in Saturday’s qualifying session, held on a sunny afternoon at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in the hills east of Monterey, but with time winding down, Lorenzo had a spectacular high-side in turn ten, the downhill right where he’d crashed, unhurt, earlier in the session.This time he wasn’t as lucky. Lorenzo was only a passenger when the rear Bridgestone slid out, then caught traction, the kinetic energy flinging him into the air. He landed heavily on his right shoulder and leg and had to be carried away on a stretcher before being transported by ambulance to the medical center. The initial diagnosis was an acromioclavicular separation to the right side (a separated right shoulder) and a contusion to the right foot.The crash brought to mind a similar incident in turn five of the first lap of last year’s race. That high-side was equally spectacular, though he wasn’t injured.”I was trying to push, but first I had some traffic and then the tire were cold, and I wasn’t in the right shape to try to improve my time,” he said. “I’m disappointed for these two crashes, but I am okay and I am optimistic that I will be able to ride tomorrow. Now the American doctors and the Clinica Mobile are working together to try to help me as best they can and make me more comfortable. Thanks to all the American people here for their support.”
Henny Ray Abrams | Contributing Editor
Abrams is the longest-serving contributor at Cycle News. Over the course of his 35-some years of writing and shooting photos, he’s covered events from MotoGP to the Motocross World Championship - and everything in between.
