Randy de Puniet apologised to the Pramac Racing squad after he was forced to miss the U.S. Grand Prix through injury, continuing a terrible run of fortune for the team. The Ducati powered outfit had only just welcomed Loris Capirossi back from a three-race layoff when de Puniet was struck down.
The Frenchman lost control at turn five during a qualifying lap with the fall causing fractures to the transverse process on the right-hand side of his L3 and L4 vertebrae as well as trauma to the pelvis, forcing him to withdraw from the race.
“I am very sad about what happened yesterday, we really didn't need this”, he added. “Until that moment it was a really good weekend for us – in all the practice sessions we were fast and today we could have done a good race. I’m sorry for my teammates who always give their best to make the bike as competitive as possible for me. I’m also sorry for our partners who support us at all times, even through these difficult moments.”
After analysing the incident, De Puniet revealed that the accident was likely to have been caused by a lack of tyre temperature, adding that he hadn't carried an unusual level of speed into the corner.
“Yesterday I thought it was my mistake but I have check telemetry with my engineer and I did the same thing as all the other times. In Sachsenring many riders crashed in their first lap out, I guess this time was my turn, but I hope the situation will improve soon. I wanted to believe until the last moment that I was able to ride, but yesterday night the pain was truly unbearable and I had to call the doctors from the mobile clinic to ease it. Contrary to what we thought yesterday, the pelvis seems to be the biggest problem: my hip is swollen like a football, and I can barely even walk.”
“Tomorrow I am going to take further medical examinations in Los Angeles where we can see more clearly if the pelvis also suffered a fracture. We hope that after the summer break we will be able to return to the track without any problems and leave this bad luck behind. We must do whatever it takes now to turn around the second part of our season in the championship.”
De Puniet will have three weeks to recover before the MotoGP World Championship resumes at Brno for the Czech Republic Grand Prix on August 14th.
