Ben Spies Sepang Injury
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies continues to have trouble in the 2012 MotoGP Championship.
The Texan’s latest issue arrived during a wreck at a wet Grand Prix of Malaysia Sunday. Due to the severity of the injuries, Spies will have to miss the Grand Prix of Australia at Phillip Island this weekend.
While running in 10th position at Sepang, Spies suffered a heavy crash with 12 laps remaining. He was sent to the on-track medical center for pain in his shoulder, and initial reports found nothing serious. But further tests conducted Monday at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia reveal Spies will need surgery on his shoulder.
But that wasn’t all; Spies, who will ride for Pramac Ducati in 2013, also cracked a rib in his upper chest and bruised a lung during the Sepang MotoGP crash. On Tuesday, Spies will return to the United Stages for further treatment.
Due to time constrains, Yamaha Factory Racing says it will not field a replacement rider at Phillip Island.
Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: “I’m lost for words. We’ve had such a tough season with an unbelievable amount of bad luck. We have always gone out there to give it 100% and it was the intention of both myself and my team to continue to do so at Phillip Island.
“I took a really hard knock on Sunday and it’s now clear from today’s tests that I have some injuries that require immediate attention.
“It’s disappointing to be heading back to the USA now instead of to Phillip Island but it’s obviously important to get the right treatment as soon as possible.
“I’m sorry for my team and thankful for all the hard work they and Yamaha have put in so far; our current situation is not where we should be.”
During Sunday’s Sepang MotoGP, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won ahead of Spies’ teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, and the other Repsol Honda rider, Casey Stoner. Only two rounds remain in 2012 MotoGP – Phillip Island and Valencia.
