MotoGP Sepang test: Randy de Puniet crashes again in Sepang

Randy de Puniet suffered his second crash on the final day of the Sepang test session, but was relieved to learn that he hadn’t broken his right hand as was first feared.

The French rider, who again impressed on only his second outing on the LCR Honda RC212V, lost the front end using a hard compound front Michelin tyre at Turn 7 – the first of a tricky double right-hander.

Testing new Ohlins suspension for only the second day, de Puniet crashed just after 1pm, but with fears about a broken bone in his right hand being cleared, he returned to the track three hours later to complete a further 25-laps.

He could only log a best time of 2.02.700, which was 0.2s slower than his best overall time at the test set on the second day.

He finished sixth fastest overall having not tried a Michelin qualifying tyre after the crash, which left him with heavy strapping on his right hand.

“It was strange. I just folded the front at the braking point but I was doing the same speed as before. I was using a harder front tyre but I’d already done six laps on it and it felt fine,” said de Puniet, who had posted the fastest time on a rain-hit opening day.