Trulli GP’s Michela Cerruti, team-mate of Jarno Trulli, will undergo precautionary back surgery in order to be ready for next month’s Putrajaya ePrix.
The decision means the Italian racer will miss the Auto GP season finale in Portugal. While no doubt unfortunate, it’s not a new issue for the Trulli GP driver. Cerutti has had to balance racing with an ongoing back problem.
“I was diagnosed with a herniated disc when I was younger and told to avoid racing cars and bikes in general,” she said. “I lived with it and there were no problems but when I started racing it probably wasn’t the best thing to do!”
However Cerutti pressed on in her motorsport career, recently becoming the first female race winner in Auto GP, taking victory at Imola. Yet in recent months, the pain has gradually worsened.
“In the past three months it has got much worse and the pain has been too much,” said Cerutti. “I decided to have surgery to prevent the risk of the issue getting worse.”
The surgery will be for the best, but her choice to miss the next round of Auto GP in favour of surgery should see her continue in Formula E without the pain barrier.
“I’m a racer and if it was my choice I would have raced in AutoGP this weekend but I want to be at my best in Malaysia and beyond,” said Cerutti. “It was the best thing to do.”
“I don’t want to put any extra loading on my back right now,” she said. “The recovery time is around three weeks, so that means no running, no training and no racing. I need to sustain my back in time for the second race in Putrajaya on November 22.”
She will head to the second round of the season hoping to build on her result of fourteenth in Beijing back in September. For now though, Cerruti heads to Italy for surgery and with the second round of Formula E taking place next month, she is expected to line up on the grid in Malaysia.
