Laverty suffers broken pelvis in Torres clash
Eugene Laverty has sustained a broken pelvis in a horrific crash during race two of the Thailand World Superbike round after being hit accidently by MV Agusta’s Jordi Torres.
The Milwaukee Aprilia rider tipped off at turn six four laps into Sunday’s World Superbike race and was hit by Torres who was following directly behind him. Laverty was transported to the Buriram hospital where it was confirmed the Irish rider has suffered interior and superior pubic ramus fractures.
Eugene Laverty has sustained a broken pelvis in a horrific crash during race two of the Thailand World Superbike round after being hit accidently by MV Agusta’s Jordi Torres.
The Milwaukee Aprilia rider tipped off at turn six four laps into Sunday’s World Superbike race and was hit by Torres who was following directly behind him. Laverty was transported to the Buriram hospital where it was confirmed the Irish rider has suffered interior and superior pubic ramus fractures.
Fortunately, Laverty will not require surgery on the injury and is reported as recovering in hospital where he will stay for a few days before being cleared to fly home from Thailand.
Laverty’s current recovery timeframe is unknown but he will be a huge doubt for the next World Superbike championship round at Aragon in Spain in just three weeks.
"It was cruel luck for Eugene today," Milwaukee Aprilia team principal Shaun Muir said. "We made significant improvements overnight and his times in morning warm up showed that he had strong pace for race two. The injuries he sustained in his crash on lap 4 are serious enough that he will be sidelined for a number of weeks, but it's too early to say how long for. The focus today is to get Eugene stable and back home as soon as he is fit to travel."
It marks the second rider injury the Milwaukee Aprilia squad has sustained in 2018 after Lorenzo Savadori suffered a broken collarbone in a crash during Superpole qualifying at the season opener in Australia. Despite missing the races in Phillip Island the Italian rider was able to make a swift recovery to return to action this weekend in Thailand with a 12th and ninth place finish.
"Lorenzo dug deep today, and all credit to him for delivering two strong point-scoring races just four weeks after breaking his collarbone," Muir added. "Hopefully he will be back to full strength for Aragon and ready to challenge at his peak again."
The Aragon World Superbike round on April 13-15 is immediately followed by the Assen round a week later on 20-22 April.
