German GP: Rossi back with a fourth place, de Puniet breaks leg

Doctors’ advice to the Doctor did not go well with the Doctor.

“Immediately after the crash the doctors said it could be five months before I was fit to return,” Rossi said. “Maybe five months to be able to play football, but I just need to ride the bike,” said Italian rider and seven-time World Champion Valentino Rossi after he was cleared to participate in the German Grand Prix that took place on Sunday.

Rossi had broken his right leg when he crashed during free practise in Italy on June 5.

de Puniet's crash was a bad one

A mere 48 days later, Rossi fought a close battle for the third position in the Grand Prix at Sachsrenring but just missed the podium by a whisker, marking the extraordinary comeback. Ironically however, another driver broke his leg in his comeback race.

Honda rider Danny Pedrosa won the race with a big margin as Championship leader Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo came second to extend his lead. He now has 185 points with 11 races remaining, Pedrosa has 138 and Andrea Dovizioso is third with 102 points. Valentino Rossi, after missing four races due to the fractured leg, is now 7^th.

Although an eighth MotoGP World Championship looks well and truly out of his grasp, Rossi is not the one to relax and take it easy in the coming races.

“In the end I was fourth but I had a great battle with Casey (Stoner) and I was so close to the podium, so this is a fantastic result after missing four races.

“I need some more kilometres to really recover the feeling and feel completely okay with the bike again, but I think I did a great job and this was a very good comeback, better than we could wish for,” said Rossi.

French rider Randy de Puniet broke his left leg in a crash in the race, as informed by the official MotoGP website (www.motogp.com). De Puniet’s bike burst into blames in the track itself. The Frenchman, known for bursting levels of speed and highly prone to crashes throughout his 125cc and 250cc career, had crashed in the qualifying on Saturday too.

“As riders we always risk crashing and breaking something, but it’s always when you are not thinking about crashing that you do. After the crash when Kalio involuntarily hit my leg I immediately understood that I had a serious problem.

“The surgery went very well and now I am feeling better. I want to thank Doctor Costa and all the medical staff here for the good job they did. They say that I need 6 weeks recovery period to start racing again but I will try my best to be back in Brno,” he said as reported by Eurosport.

De Puniet will be replaced by Roger Lee Hayden, brother of Nicky Hayden, for the Laguna Seca race.