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Fast MotoGP News: Suzuki Tests End with Injured De Puniet, Nicky Hayden Returns at Aragon

It’s been quite a busy time at Mugello as no less than three teams have scheduled testing sessions at the famous track. However, as Aprilia and Ducati were able follow their schedule, the same cannot be said about Suzuki. The house of Hamamatsu was forced to put an early end to their development plans for the week as their test pilot Randy De Puniet has taken a fall and was injured.
Randy De Puniet 3 photos
Photo: motogp.com
Nicky Hayden returns to action at AragonRandy De Puniet was injured in tests at Mugello, September 2014
De Puniet was the only test rider Suzuki had left after his colleague Nobuatsu Aoki was injured in the 8 Hours race at Suzuka. According to gp-inside, De Puniet was admitted into a hospital where he will be spending at least 48 hours to determine all the injuries he sustained. Suzuki has not made any further declarations regarding his condition and nothing was said about the nature of his injuries.

Having both test riders injured is a massive blow for Suzuki, especially as the team is eyeing a wildcard appearance in the Valencia round. If both Aoki and De Puniet have sustained serious injuries, the Suzuki will most likely be fretting to find another rider to continue the final testing before the end of the season, and obviously, ride the XRH-1 at Valencia.

Bones removed from his hand

Still in the injury territory but on the bright side of life, Nicky Hayden announces that he will be returning to MotoGP racing this week for the Aragon round. Hayden has had a really tough last couple of months being operated on twice, and the last surgery also being a very invasive one.

Several bones in his right wrist have been removed as himself tells motogp.com: “In our wrists we have two rows of tiny bones. They have removed the upper row, which was damaged. It sounds crazy but when you see the results on the X-ray it makes sense. I have to say the doctors urged me to start moving the hand quite quickly after the operation. Even so it was a delicate procedure that needed a lot of recovery time. The surgeon is very happy with the result and the progression since then.”

During his absence Hayden was substituted by Leon Camier, who even managed to earn his first MotoGP point. Hayden currently sits in the 17th position in the world standing, with 29 points, 4 down from Karel Abraham and a safe distance ahead of the riders behind him. Colin Edwards retired and his 11 points will no longer increase, while Ducati’s Michele Pirro also has 11 points, but he’s a test rider and therefore rarely riding.

The MotoGP gets underway at Aragon this weekend, with Yamaha’s hopes being higher than ever this season after Rossi’s victory in his home San Marino round a fortnight ago and Lorenzo’s runner-up finish. The top five riders in the championship are led by Marc Marquez (289), Dani Pedrosa (215), Valentino Rossi (214), Jorge Lorenzo (177) and Andrea Dovizioso (142).
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