Nicky's broken :(

Early last week it was reported by a not-so-dependable news outlet that Nicky Hayden had suffered a shoulder injury during his tangle with teammate Dani Pedrosa in Estoril. I was intrigued by this news, but I was waiting for a more solid source to report on it as I am not one to pass on "tabloid" fodder. It has become official over the course of the week... trickling out slowly from the recesses of the MotoGP news vaults. Nicky did indeed sustain an injury in the crash in Estoril.... a shoulder fracture. He kept it on the "down-low" (if you will) so as not to hand Rossi any more of a psychological advantage than he already had leading up to Valencia. Props to you Nick! He went in with his "All In" poker hand represented on his bike and the mental attitude of "Crash or Win".... no excuses. I must say I have gained some respect for The Kentucky Kid in light of this news. In all fairness though, none of us know what would have happened if Rossi hadn't crashed. Did anyone check Nicky's leathers before the race to see if he had a banner tucked in there prepared to be unfurled at the finish had he not won? Something along the lines of "I am riding injured somebody hug me". Me thinks the news would have been shouted from the rooftops during the post-race interview had the victory escaped him. Alas, this is merely speculation. Nick will miss the final testing session in Jerez, and fly home to have the injury assessed by a doctor and possibly schedule surgery.

The 800cc testing is going well. Suzuki, to everyone's surprise, has found a lovely spot at the top of the time-boards. It looks like they may have gotten it right this time around. Ironically, Honda .... (yes, the same Honda who proclaimed that, in the interest of safety, the machines should be slashed down to 800cc) is struggling a bit with their set-up. Nicky has been quoted as saying the bikes "need more power". Maybe so, but Suzuki has managed to find themselves a second quicker than the track record, set by Loris Capirossi on the liter-class Ducati, in Sepang. There is still much more testing to do before the season cranks up for 2007.... then the tale will be told ;)

Valentino Rossi has been droppin' the proverbial hammer as a contestant in the WRC (World Rally Championships). He finished an extremely respectable 11th in his privately entered '05 Spec Impreza in NZ. Seriously.... where does the coolness end with this guy? He was considering a switch to F1 for 2006 (which never happened... but he still got out there and drove the thing like it was his duty to God and country) and now he's dabbling in the world of rally racing to gauge it as a possible post-MotoGP profession. *** Post MotoGP*** Translation.... after he tires of being THE fastest man on two wheels. I heart me some Valentino Rossi.... he does NOT lack awesome.... and he accomplishes all of this while being at least one nugget short of a Happy Meal.

Tech 3 Yamaha's new edition, Sylvain Guintoli, has managed to injure himself during a tire-testing run on one of the 990cc M1's. They were wet-weather testing and Guintoli was "kicked off" after a sudden loss of rear grip at nearly 145 MPH. He fractured his bone of the collar variety in the accident, but sources say it does not require surgery, and he should be fully recovered in 6 weeks.... ready to get back to testing after the ban is lifted in January.

That's about all I have in me for today.....

Until next time......

Rubb'er Down :)