Sepang testing

[elephino]

Jacque breaks right arm in Sepang crash


Frenchman Olivier Jacque sustained a right-arm injury in today's test session in Sepang although he will not need to be operated on according to doctors. Jacque crashed on only his fourth lap when he made a mistake in downshifting - dropping to first gear instead of second. It was in turn 10, a fast right-hander before the back straight of the Sepang circuit. His team learned of the crash after being informed by test-rider Toshihiki Honma who saw the French ace lying on the gravel.

Jacque was taken to the hospital by ambulance, with paramedics securing his right arm tightly over his chest and taking care not to damage his neck as he complained about pain in his back. A closer look at his damaged helmet revealed Jacque came down hard on it in the crash. A hospital examination has revealed he has a clean break so no operation is required for the moment, although he'll spend the night in hospital as a security measure after concerns over the pain in his neck.

Jacque's Sepang test is now over after his second crash in only three days - the 250cc champion highsided in his first outing on Sunday. The French rider was taken to the hospital by the only ambulance on duty at the circuit, so the red flag came out and all riders were forced to stop after roughly ten minutes of practice. Many team members complained about this issue - questioning the presence of a single ambulance during a test organised for 12 men riding some of the most powerful two-wheeled machines in the world.

The ambulance came back more an hour later, and practice resumed without further incidents. Due to the delay the track remained open until 6pm and many riders tested until the practice finished. "We still have many things on our list, so we're pushing hard", Spaniard Carlos Checa explained. Italian Max Biaggi was again the fastest man of the day.

Unofficial lap times:

500cc

Max Biaggi 2.06.8

CarlosCheca 2.07.8

Gary McCoy 2.07.2

Noriyuki Haga 2.07.3

Shinya Nakano 2.07.8

Norick Abe 2.07.8

Jose Luis Cardoso 2.08.9

250cc

Shahrol Yuzi 2.11.64

Naoki Matsudo 2.11.2

[gomick]

bad luck for olivier, max is always fast in testing at sepang. good to see mccoy and haga close in times, saw a picture of mccoy sliding his rear wheel at the test, even his #5 looks good, cant wait til the start of the season

[GroupB4me]

Half a second between the top four, McCoy and Haga on the same pace, Great Stuff!!

Will developing tyres for RED-BULL be heaven or Hell