Simon Returns To Racing At The Sachsenring
The fifth race in just seven weekends for the Moto2 World Championship takes place this weekend before a well deserved summer break, which the intermediate category riders will be able to enjoy until the middle of August, when the series resumes in the Czech Republic. First of all they must tackle Sachsenring, the smallest circuit on the calendar at just 3.671 kilometres but with its dramatic elevation changes a technical and thrilling challenge with an anti-clockwise layout that requires a perfect set-up. This weekend it is the scene of the much anticipated return of MAPFRE Aspar rider Julián Simón.
Exactly forty-one days after breaking his right tibia and fibula Simón plans to straddle his Suter machine this Friday, a miracle made possible by the work of Dr. Ángel Villamor and the strength of body and mind of a World Champion. Last Sunday Julián already completed a few laps on a Moto2 bike at Albacete to test his fitness and yesterday lunchtime he visited the Hospital USP San José so that Dr. Villamor could assess his condition. Now he is clear to compete at a circuit where he celebrated 125cc victory in 2009. Alongside him will be Jordi Torres, a rider who has earned the right to compete in the Moto2 class thanks to some impressive performances as a stand-in in recent weeks. The Rubí rider was delighted by the news that he will be kept on by the MAPFRE Aspar Team and his challenge is to prove that their confidence is well placed.
Julián Simón:
“I love Sachsenring and it is nice that my return will be at this circuit. I have always been fast there although the main objective this weekend is to see how I feel after the operation and if possible finish the race. We will have to see how it goes but I am just looking forward to getting back amongst my team and back on my bike. The recovery has been tough, especially the last few days because you get impatient. It has been hard for me to watch the racing from home and now I plan to enjoy every minute on board the bike. We have to be realistic – I won’t be at 100% because it was a big injury and I have lost a lot of muscle mass but that takes nothing away from my excitement at going to Sachsenring. I was able to get a few laps in at Albacete last Sunday and my feeling in general was very good although it was hard to make the direction changes. The important thing is that my recovery has been constant, without a backward step, and yesterday Dr. Villamor confirmed that the fractures had fused sufficiently for me to ride this weekend. He has advised complete rest whenever I am not on the bike and Luis, the physiotherapist who has been overseeing my recovery, will be with me at the circuit.”
Jordi Torres:
“I had never previously competed outside Spain so to have had this opportunity to race in the Moto2 World Championship with such a big team has been a dream come true for me. It is the biggest opportunity of my life and I have to make the most of it. I have been playing on my games console even more than usual over the past few days to try and learn Sachsenring. There are a lot of areas I plan to work on this weekend, mainly learning how and when to make use of a slipstream as well as improving my starts and getting the most out of fresh rubber. Being a part of the MAPFRE Aspar Team is the best thing that could have happened to me. Little by little I am learning to take it all in and control my nerves. To know I have their confidence relaxes me but I keep setting my own objectives and I will fight hard every minute. I don’t want to let this opportunity pass thinking that I didn’t give absolutely everything in every session. I am desperate to learn as much as I can about Moto2.”
Source: Aspar Media