Kawasaki’s Joan Lascorz suffers serious injuries in crash near the end of morning session, airlifted to Bologna hospital with spinal fracture
The majority of the World Superbike contingent remained at Imola on Monday to participate in an official test organized by Pirelli to test several new tire configurations. And once again, Kawasaki’s Tom Sykes proved that the revitalized ZX-10R superbike has superb speed during testing, with the British rider’s 1:46.609 lap more than half-second clear of his nearest competitor. Although that speed has yet to result in a WSBK victory, Sykes’ two second-place finishes at Imola on Sunday proved that it may be only a matter of time.
Unfortunately for the Kawasaki team, Spanish rider Joan Lascorz was seriously injured in a crash during the closing minutes of the morning session in the fabled uphill “Tosa – Piratella” section, a high-speed portion of the track that has a blind approach to the latter turn. The former World Supersport standout was airlifted to the spinal injury unit of the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna, where reports state he was diagnosed with a fracture of the C6 vertebra. He is currently in surgery to stabilize the fracture, and reportedly was conscious and breathing easily on his own before surgery; updates on Lascorz’s condition will be posted when available. Our best wishes to Lascorz, his family and friends, and the Kawasaki World Superbike team on a speedy recovery.
“Obviously it’s been difficult with the circumstances of Joan, he was just starting to go strong,” said Sykes. “Overall I’m satisfied, and it rubs salt in the wounds from yesterday because if the temperatures had been a bit higher we could have had a better run. I’ve just done a run on race tires and I beat the outright circuit record in 46.6, beating my best on qualifying tires and knocking 0.9 off my lap record. The Kawasaki has got a good base setting and we know we’re going in the right direction.”
Photo Gallery: World Superbike 2012 Imola Monday Test results: Sykes on top again, teammate Lascorz seriously injured - Sport Rider Magazine
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