Eugene Laverty’s already difficult Misano World Superbike round was made more tricky only a few laps into race one today when a bone in his foot that he fractured during a testing crash snapped under pressure but it didn’t stop Laverty continuing and racing in the second outing.
The Irishman had a big off at Phillip Island while riding the Suzuki MotoGP bike. The resulting fracture hadn’t been causing him any big problems but because Laverty was pushing his footpeg so hard, the bone gave way and he had to seek medical attention in between races.
“That was definitely not the easiest of days! In race one, a few laps in at turn five while I was pushing on the footrest I felt something snap inside my foot. There was a lot of pain and I struggled to ride for the next five laps but I didn’t want to pull in so I just adjusted my foot and for the last five or six laps I was able to ride again and start pushing,” said Laverty.
“For the second race I sought medical attention which allowed me to ride in a different way – I had to keep my foot in a strange position on the footrest but at least that allowed me to fight and race, because I thought I wouldn’t be able to race again.
“It’s unfortunate because I thought the foot was coming ok; it’s ok to walk, but to ride the bike the break is exactly at the point I need to push on the footrest and I think I’ve done more damage now than originally. I’ll do my best to be as strong as I can be in Portimao, and hope we can get the GSX-R close to the front.”
