Indy MotoGP: Hiroshi Aoyama poised for return

Hiroshi Aoyama has spoken of his long and tough recovery from the broken back that ruined his rookie MotoGP campaign.

The reigning world 250GP champion will make a comeback in Indianapolis this weekend having been sidelined for over two months with the broken back he suffered in a crash during warm-up for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in June.

The Interwetten Honda rider tested his RC212V machine in Brno last week before deciding to return to action in America.

The Japanese rider said: “It was two months ago and I crashed in the warm-up. It was not a really hard crash but a simple crash.

“But when I crashed I had so much pain and they took me to the hospital, and doctor said my back is broken and it takes three months. I was very shocked at the beginning; I didn’t want to hear that.

But after that I stayed in my bed for one month. Sometimes I had numbness in my hands and legs, so I was really scared.

“But now I can come back and it was really hard time being at home for two months. I tested in Brno and I felt good. So I think now it’s time to come back to racing.”

Aoyama will race with a special corset to give his back extra support and he added: “We made a special corset for riding the bike because my back is not 100 per cent yet and I need some support.

“With this I can ride normal. I hope I don’t have so much pain during this weekend. In the test I did 10 laps in a row and it was okay. But after that I had to lie down on the floor. Now it’s two weeks later, so I hope it’s going to be better.”

Aoyama was just relieved that he had not suffered any permanent damage in the crash at Silverstone.

And he said watching races at his European base in Barcelona had convinced him that would return to racing.

He added: “I was away watching MotoGP and I was kind of stressed. I felt also I love motorcycles and I’m really happy that I can ride a bike again, also I can walk normally.”