IN
THE
WIND
P42
Wolfgang Fischer. "He had a few
technical issues, but is showing
really great potential."
"The Ruta 40 was a great
one for me," Brabec said. "A lot
of navigation—a lot more than
Dubai. Out here there were
more objects that you could
take reference from, knowing
where you are at all times. Here,
I heard that it's more like the
Dakar. I actually like it out here.
Hopefully I can race the Dakar
and be good there. I almost had
a shot at the podium. I think a
few more rallies and I'll get this
down. I have the speed, run-
ning up there with the faster
guys; I just need to navigate a bit
quicker. I can't thank the team
enough for helping me out."
Jean Turner
ESPARGARO GOES UNDER THE KNIFE
A
leix Espargaro has under-
gone successful surgery on
his right hand after his incredible
highside at the previous MotoGP
at Le Mans.
In an accident Espargaro
described as the biggest crash
of his career, the Spaniard was
flung off his Team Ecstar Suzuki
GSX-RR under the fast Dunlop
Bridge during practice, ruptur-
ing the collateral ligament in his
right thumb.
Renowned MotoGP surgeon,
Dr. Xavier Mir, performed the
operation and said, "Aleix Espar-
garo has had an operation on
his right thumb with the removal
of the ulnar collateral ligament,
proceeding to reinsertion of the
ligament and a 2mm intraliga-
mentary suture anchor."
Espargaro has not been
confirmed for the Italian MotoGP
round this weekend, however his
objective is to be declared fit to
race. He will know his fate follow-
ing an assessment on May 27.
Aleix Espargaro's return
to MotoGP is unknown.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLD
&
GOOSE
Javier Pizzolito (pictured) finished
second after his HRC teammate
Joan Barreda was forced out of the
race with a knee injury.
