Suzuki’s Aleix EspargaroTeam ECSTAR Suzuki’s Aleix Espargaro has fared well during Suzuki’s official return to MotoGP following a three-year hiatus.While tuning and tweaking the GSX-RR prototype, Espargaro has had some positive results: 11th in the season opener in Qatar, eighth in Texas, and sevenths in Aragon and Jerez. But his direction headed towards the negative at this past weekend’s round held at the famed Le Mans Bugatti Circuit in France.
Espargaro suffered a high-speed high side during FP3, hitting the ground at nearly 125 mph. He hurt his back and stomach, but the majority of the pain was within his right hand.Regardless, Espagaro qualified 10th. He also started Sunday’s 28-lap MotoGP, but was forced to pit on lap two with clutch issues.Following the #FrenchGP, Espargaro flew back to Bareclona and was examined by Dr. Xavier Mir. After several tests, the Spaniard was diagnosed with a rupture of the collateral ligament of his thumb.To repair this, Espargaro will undergo surgery Tuesday in Barcelona.“Aleix suffered a rupture in the ulnar collateral ligament of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the right thumb, confirmed by ultrasound and x-rays. This injury causes joint instability and therefore a surgical repair is necessary,” Dr. Mir. says.Team ECSTAR Suzuki will offer an update Tuesday, and report it’s impossible to know the exact time Espargaro will need for recover. But the main objective is to have him ready for the Italian Grand Prix at the end of the month.To read our report of Sunday’s French GP, visit Le Mans MotoGP 2015 Results & Recap.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtN44KxC9vQ
Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends.
My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Discover how the YZF-R7 provides the perfect balance of rider comfort and true supersport performance by checking it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or see it for yourself at your local dealer.
This week’s episode features Senior Editor Nic de Sena’s impressions of the beautiful new Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST that is loosely based around the original FXRT Sport Glide from the 1980s. Hailing from The Golden State, these cult-status performance machines became known as West Coast style, with sportier suspension, increased horsepower, and niceties including creature comforts such as a tidy fairing and sporty luggage.
In past episodes you might have heard us mention my best friend, Daniel Schoenewald, and in the second segment I chat with him about some of the really special machines in his 170 or so—and growing—motorcycle collection. He’s always said to me that he doesn’t consider himself the owner, merely the curator of the motorcycles for the next generation.
Yet Daniel is not just a collector, but I can attest a really skilled rider. His bikes are not trailer queens, they’re ridden, and they’re ridden pretty hard. Actually, we have had many, many memorable rides on pretty much all of the machines in the collection at one time or another.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
