Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1022726
IN THE WIND P44 RABAT'S LEG WAS "BENT LIKE AN S" A vintia Ducati MotoGP rider Tito Rabat has given his first press conference since his crash during FP4 at the British MotoGP at Sil- verstone. Rabat was one of a number of riders to crash after hydroplaning on entry to the fast Stowe right-hander, and was struck by Franco Morbidelli's sliding Honda. The impact broke Rabat's right tibia, fibula and femur—the latter in three places and all breaks compound, leading to a huge loss of blood and in- crease of infection. He was taken to the University Hospital Coventry where he underwent surgery, and stunned the racing world by taking his first steps only 24 hours later. "I did not think at any time of losing my leg, although I saw it on the ground twisted like an 'S'. I lost a lot of blood and I got scared," Rabat said. "I feel much better [but] with a lot of pain. Every day is improving and I now feel ready to recuperate as fast as possible, with the energy to do it." "They were very bad days, the first day after the operation was very difficult, there was so much pain for 24 hours and you can't sleep. That's the worst thing because you try to find the position and in one minute you have to change, then the sun appears and you've not slept. I also lost a lot of blood, which they gave me, and they took very good care of me. Now here at home it's better, and I can sleep a bit more but no more than two hours." Rabat is expected to undergo further surgeries with no date yet set for a return to MotoGP. CN SCHWANTZ TO BE INDUCTED INTO MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME A MA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Kevin Schwantz will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2019. Schwantz, the 1993 500cc Grand Prix World Champion and 1988 Daytona 200 winner, will be one of six individuals enshrined in the multi-discipline Motorsports Hall of Fame in Daytona Beach, Florida. The induction celebration is March 11-12, 2019. Born in Houston, Texas to parents who owned a motor- cycle dealership, Schwantz began riding motorcycles at age three. He made the transition from motocross to road racing in the mid-1980s and became one of the winningest American riders in international road racing competition. Schwantz won 25 of the 125 500cc Grand Prix World Championship races he entered. His career included fierce on-track rivalries with AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famers Ed- die Lawson and Wayne Rainey. Schwantz's No. 34 was retired by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme and he was in- ducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. CN Tito Rabat's injury was gruesome and it will still be some time before we see him racing again. Kevin Schwantz will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall Of Fame in Daytona Beach, Florida, March 11-12.