MotoGP: Bautista Hopes for Estoril Return

2011 MotoGP

Twenty-five days after breaking his leg during practice for the opening round of 2011 MotoGP in Qatar, Rizla Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista underwent a medical check on his femur in Madrid.

Test results show that Bautista is making positive progress, and the Spaniard’s first thoughts were: “I want to return at Estoril (Round 3, 2011 MotoGP) but it’s not yet 100-percent certain.”

Bautista, who had a pin placed in his femur after the Qatar MotoGP crash, underwent X-Rays and other medical tests Tuesday at USP San Jose de Madrid. Bautista’s doctor, Dr. Angel Villamor, reported the bone is healing well.

Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki GSV-R) says: “We’ve passed the first stage, and that means I should be able to start to push on little by little and start getting stronger in the leg, because I have lost a lot of strength and with less fear I can start to move the bone and regain full feeling. That’ll mean I can start exercising with a little resistance and start to speed up the recuperation process to be as quick as possible.”

“We still have 17 days before I need to get back on a bike. The doctor said everything is going reasonably quickly and that’s my objective. I have two weeks in which to work and gain strength in the leg. Before travelling to Estoril I will have another consultation with the medical team, they’ll do fresh X-rays to ensure everything’s fine and the idea is to return in Portugal.

“It’s still not 100% certain, but the only thing on my mind is returning and my aim is to do that in Estoril although it’ll be a decision for the medical team. They’ve told me that if I continue at this pace there is a good chance, but there is still a lot of hard work ahead if I want to get back to a suitable physical condition for MotoGP.”

As for Round 2 of 2011 MotoGP, the American John “Hopper” Hopkins filled in for Bautista, taking 10th at a wet, crash-filled Spanish GP in Jerez.

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