The Shanghai weekend proved partly bad and partly good that is if your appreciation depends on certain pilots. On top of the classifications list Jorge Lorenzo was the author of a ruinous fall in the free practice run while the world champion Casey Stoner classifies as being first and the seven times champion Valentino Rossi, second with a detachment  of only 0,052 from Stoner’s best time of FP2 in 2’00 “163. Rossi also has the mental advantage of being the only pilot to have obtained a time of under two minutes: 1’59 “906. Also well worth mentioning is the fact that this circuit’s lap record marked by Pedrosa in 2006 on the Honda 990 is 1’59 “318.

Lorenzo, who has fixed the trouble with his arm found himself in a delicate position because, as we all know, bad luck never comes alone and his fall was as hurtful and violent as it was spectacular. Still, consequences could have been worse than the leg fracture, dislocated ankle and knee.

The event is definitely a big disappointment for the Spanish people waiting to see their pilot on the podium and a big handicap for the race which has lost one of its major protagonists. We should “never say never”, but hope that the Mobile Clinic will do yet another miracle and together with Lorenzo’s steel will we have 50% chances to see him competing.

Rushed by helicopter to the hospital in the nearby Huashan, the MotoGP rider was subjected to the usual routine of investigations and discovered that several contusions affect its state of health apart form the ones that I previous mentioned.

Ugly pictures, but that’s racing!