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2011 MotoGP
After a horrific warm-up crash at Phillip Island MotoGP last weekend, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo suffered major injury to his clutch hand’s fourth finger.
The reigning MotoGP Champion immediately went under the knife, and reconstruction surgeons were able to save Lorenzo’s fingers. But due to recovery time, the Spaniard will miss this weekend’s Sepang MotoGP, and is questionable for the finale at Valencia; the Yamaha team will report if Lorenzo will compete in Valencia within the next two weeks.
But the Yamaha Racing Team must go on, and will field YZR-M1 test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga at Sepang, the Japanese rider substituting for the injured Lorenzo as he recovers at home. Nakasuga will join Ben Spies, keeping to a two-man factory Yamaha effort in Malaysia.
Nakasuga has much knowledge of the M1 and Bridgestone tires due to his experience in testing. As for actual competition, Nakasuga competes in the JSB1000 class of the 2011 Japan Road Racing Championship; he is currently third in overall points.
Following is a rider profile of Nakasuga:
- Name: Katsuyuki Nakasuga
- Date of birth: 9/08/1981
- Age: 30
- Nationality: Japan
- Place of birth: Fukuoka
- Team: YSP Racing Team with TRC (current ranking 3rd – Series not yet complete)
- Championship series: All Japan Road Racing Championship, JSB1000 Class
- Career: – 2000/2004: All Japan RR GP250 class (best ranking 5th); 2005/present: All Japan RR JSB1000 class (2008/2009 Champion, 4th in 2010).
