WSB: Laverty out for three rounds after Thailand crash

Eugene Laverty will miss the next three rounds of the 2018 World Superbike Championship after his horrifying crash in Thailand at the weekend.

Laverty fell from his Milwaukee Aprilia at the Chang International Circuit’s turn six and while he was uninjured from the initial fall, he was collected by another rider as he slid across the tarmac.

The Irishman sustained two fractures to his pelvis in the incident, but both of these are expected to heal without surgergy. He did, however, go under the knife in Buriram on Sunday evening to repair some internal injuries. He has since been air-lifted to a hospital in Bangkok where he remains.

Given the nature of his injuries, he’s set to miss the next three rounds at Aragon, Assen and Imola but is already planning a return to the track for his home round at Donington Park at the end of May.

“I’m obviously very disappointed that I will be forced to miss some races so early in the season but I count myself lucky that my injuries are not worse,” he said.

“The initial fear of lying on the ground and not being able to move my legs was something that I’ve never felt before. I’m very fortunate to have a fantastic group of people around me from my wife Pippa, my brother John who reacted fantastically during the key hours after the crash, and the entire Milwaukee Aprilia team who joined me in the hospital to make sure that I was in good hands. Due to my internal injuries I will be restricted in the first month of my recovery but following that we will push hard to ensure that my pelvis heals and I’m aiming to get back on the bike at my home round at Donington Park.”