Hector Barbera will be forced to miss the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, after suffering a back injury during the morning session of Friday’s free practice for the MotoGP class. Barbera suffered a nasty highside at Turn 16, his rear wheel appearing to catch on a section of track which appeared still to be dirty, and in the ensuing crash, Barbera landed on his neck and fractured three dorsal vertebrae, D5, D6 and D8. He was taken to the local Indianapolis Methodist Hospital, and has been ruled unfit to race.
Toni Elias was already on hand in case Barbera proved not to be fit enough to ride due to the leg he broke in a motocross accident after Mugello. Barbera was making a return to the track just 29 days after surgery to pin the tibia and fibula, and had impressed a lot of people by choosing to ride. Unfortunately, this crash adds another, unrelated injury, and means that Barbera is likely to miss the Brno round the week after Indy, according to Catalunya Radio’s Damià Aguilar. Elias will also stand in for Barbera in the Czech Republic.
Photo: © 2012 Jules Cisek / Popmonkey – All Rights Reserved
This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.
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