Honda rider Jorge Lorenzo suffered a back injury during the first practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix earlier this year, and the injury will keep the three-time MotoGP world champion out of action longer than anticipated. The rider will go on to miss the next two Grand Prix next month. This includes the Brno GP slated on August 4 along with the Austrian GP scheduled the subsequent weekend - August 11. He is now slated to make a comeback with the British GP on August 25, 2019.
Lorenzo fractured his T6 and T8 vertebra in a fast fall at Turn seven of the TT Circuit Assen. Having missed the German GP, Honda Team Manager Alberto Puig had previously identified the Brno GP for Spanish racer's return. However, the 32-year-old and the team have decided to delay his return to racing.
An official release from Repsol Honda said, "He [Jorge Lorenzo] is still in some pain and his movement on a bike remains restricted. The extra three weeks away from the MotoGP paddock will be used to "continue his recovery and avoid any further risk of injury."
Lorenzo was expected to make a comeback for the Brno GP after the crash at Assen
Stepping in for Lorenzo will be HRC's test rider Stefan Bradl, who raced in place of Lorenzo at Sachsenring and finished 10th. While the decision does come in the interest of the rider's health and safety, it is hard to ignore that this season has been plagued with issues for the Spaniard in his debut campaign for Honda.
Lorenzo broke his wirst for the second time during practice for last year's Thailand GP, and was forced to miss the first pre-season test of 2019. He went on to fracture a rib in a practice crash on Saturday in Qatar. He further injured himself during the post Catalan GP test in June, a day after causing a pile-up that took out several contenders including Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso along with Yamaha riders Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi. His form has also been far from usual this season, as he sits with just 19 points on the leaderboard, and is yet to get a top 10 finish. With the summer break providing Lorenzo to recover, we do hope to see the Honda rider back and fighting harder than ever for the top spot.
