The following press release was just received from Ducati. Nicky Hayden was injured on Tuesday of this week while practicing on a flat track. In his first outing on a motorcycle since injuring his wrist on November 6 at Valencia, Hayden landed hard on his left shoulder, breaking his scapula and fracturing two ribs. Ducati is unsure whether Hayden will be ready for the next scheduled test on the 2012 MotoGP bike on January 31 at Sepang. Here is the full press release:
Nicky Hayden’s winter vacation was marred on Tuesday, December 27, when he broke his left scapula and fractured two ribs while training near his home in Owensboro, Kentucky. Hayden was training at a private indoor flat track facility, riding a motorcycle for the first time since breaking his scaphoid at the Valencia Grand Prix on November 6. He underwent an X-ray and CAT scan on the same day he was injured, and he has since undergone an MRI. At the moment, there are no plans for surgery, but Hayden will have the scapula reassessed next week by Dr. Arthur Ting in Fremont, California, to see how his fracture is progressing. According to the healing process, the next few weeks will determine whether Hayden will take part in the first winter test session of 2012, which will begin on January 31 in Sepang, Malaysia.
“Obviously, injuries are never good,” Hayden said, “but it’s part of motorcycle racing. Just like at Valencia, it was kind of a freak accident. I was starting to train again, like I normally do during the winter, at a private track near my house. I came up behind another rider, and he went to move out of the way. I wasn’t going that fast, but he clipped my front wheel and I went down and landed pretty hard on my left shoulder, and that was it. It’s disappointing, but there’s nothing to do about it but heal quickly. Anyway, this doesn’t change my expectations for 2012 which, fortunately, is just around the corner.”
Based on some of the comments, I guess a lot of you guys don’t know that flat track is excellent training for MotoGP, and has been since the days of Kenny Roberts Sr. In fact, KR has a long history of offering flat track training for road racers. How do you think those guys learn to “back it in” to the corners?
Riding on dirt teaches you how to deal with a bike that is sliding all over the place with little traction. Doesn’t that sound like a MotoGP bike with worn tires toward the end of the race?
Flat track racing is good training for GP? When is Harley going to race GP?
I guess that means the 10th place and higher riders get to move up one position.
I had similar injuries from a MC crash. I was too sort to ride for about a month. It will be a close call on timing but Nicky is pretty tough. My bet is he’ll be in the first race of the season.
Nicky will win races only if he is riding a Honda….never will he win on that lame duc.
Shoulders are a tough break, but it is impressive to see how fast some broken bones can be “fixed” and get back to racing..
Maybe a couple pins or plates, and a few weeks in a Hyperbaric Oxegen chamber???
Good luck Nicky! We’re pulling for you to get that next Championship!!
Not his 1st dirt oriented accident in the GP off season. If I were giving my rider several million dollars to compete for 1st place, I’d have a clause in the contract that prohibited certain activities for training. MX and flat track is one of those things. I want my rider 100% fit for race day, not holding back because of a nagging injury that is preventing him from giving it his all…or not being to race at all. You can’t win if you don’t show up. Will he be fit for the next test even?
Nor can you win if you don’t train. Obviously to train a rider to ride fast on a motorcycle you have him ride fast on a motorcycle. Its risky, but its part of the sport and the teams understand this.
I have to agree. He is representing his own contract money, Ducati as a company, sponsors, the work the mechanics and engineers put in and so on. Dirt track and road racing are two different worlds as far as timing goes, the way the bikes behave and so on. Hodgsen ended his career on a dirt bike. Hopper broke both feet. They should train on Honda CBR250s or something at a local road course and watch out for each other. In a race it is a different story. Just my thoughts.
I was sure hoping for a healthy, excuse free year from him. Surely he and Rossi could get the Ducati podium ready this year. If not MotoGP then WSB. I’m sure he’d think it a demotion but I’d love to see him do some real racing. You just don’t see much battling going on at this level of the sport.
nicky, try some bone broth. you’ll heal faster.
I saw Nicky come off an AMA Grand National flat tracker (hard crash) at Hagerstown in ’96 or ’97. He was 16 (I think) at the time. Any mortal man would have crawled up into the ambulance and called it a day. Not Nicky.. He got up off the ground (with assistance), dusted himself off, tried to get the bike running.. and (if it had started) I know he would have got back into the race.
The man has nads…
Good luck Nicky.. get well soon.
Heel quickly and well Nicky. Best of luck for 2012!
Gotta feel sorry for Nicky. He has been snake bit ever since winning the championship. Heal quickly Nicky.