Within an hour of the news that Jorge Lorenzo had been medically ruled out of competing at Phillip Island, Ben Spies has also said he won’t compete because of his injuries from his crash on Saturday. Going off the track at 167 mph, Spies suffered injuries to his chest and head in the high-speed off. Likely bruising and possibly cracking his ribs, Spies valiantly took part in the Australian GP’s warm-up session this morning, though lapped at a considerable slower pace and complained of concentration problems. In too much pain to ride in this afternoon’s race, Spies’ retirement for the weekend means that Yamaha Racing is out for the GP down under.
Saying to the press yesterday that he wasn’t planning on seeing a doctor last night, the full-extent of Spies’ injuries aren’t certain, though the American has been ambulatory in the paddock. His warm-up session pace was nearly two seconds off the time set by Casey Stoner (1:31.261), and had the factory Yamaha rider down in the 12th spot on the warm-up time sheet. Unlike Lorenzo, it seems likely that Spies will be fit enough to ride at Malaysia, though nothing has been confirmed yet by Yamaha.
Photo: Yamaha Racing
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