TURNS out that the crash at Motegi is a lot worse than expected for Valentino Rossi as x-rays have revealed a hairline fracture to his little finger.
Rossi went down on the first lap at Motegi in a racing incident involving Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies on brakes into turn two. The injury to the little finger on the Italian's left hand will not affect the upcoming race at Phillip Island, but Rossi has decided to skip the final testing of the GP12 that was scheduled to take place at Jerez today.
Therefore Nicky Hayden will conclude the final day of developing Ducati's 1000cc prototype, as the Italian manufacturer have now used up all of their eight days allocated for testing.
The statement from Ducati said:
Valentino Rossi’s fall in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday was not without consequences, although the initial examination suggested otherwise. Due to the severity of the pain and swelling in his left hand, the Italian on Tuesday underwent additional X-rays that revealed a hairlinefracture at the arthrodesis of the first and second phalanx (performed following a fall at Assen in 1995) of the pinky finger on his left hand. Rossi’s participation in the Australian Grand Prix on October 16 is not in doubt.
Tomorrow, Thursday 6 October, Nicky Hayden will test the GP12 at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, using the last of eight days the team is allowed with the 2012 bike.
