Christophe Ponsson had gone to Misano to have a good weekend that promising free practice sessions and an honorable qualification had legitimately given him a glimpse of. But his dream turned into a nightmare on the third lap of the first race. For a reason that remains to be clarified, his Yamaha R1 behaved in a way that the rider himself described as “bizarre” in order to simply be thrown off course. The kind of fall that can hurt and indeed…
Christophe Ponsson would have done well without this misadventure riding his Yamaha R1 on a track in Misano where he also had his experience in MotoGP with a Ducati Avintia. After an interesting start to the meeting, it was the top 10 that the third Frenchman regularly entered in WSBK was aiming for in this fourth meeting of the season. But unfortunately he finished his performance in the hospital. A painful conclusion whose cause does not seem to be the driver.
Public chat the WSBK website we read thus: “ I didn't experience any engine braking issues over the weekend. But I don't know what happened in the race. From the first lap, I noticed that the bike was behaving strangely. But with the euphoria of the start and the fact of wanting to keep my place, I completed the first lap like that. I told myself that I had to change the engine brake map, because there was something strange. Barely time to do so when entering turn 4, the motorcycle locked up, turned sideways and ejected me. I was absolutely unable to do anything (…) I felt a big crash, and I understood clearly what had happened to me. I will have surgery on Thursday and will be released from the hospital the next day. Then I will be accompanied by a physiotherapist with a view to returning to Donington Park ».
"Christophe Ponsson fell on his head first, the technical team is investigating the cause of the fall"
The results are not trivial for Christophe Ponsson who suffers from a fractured right clavicle and a sprained cervical ligament. Ophélie Ponsson, team manager of the team Gil Motor Sport Yamaha added : " on the third lap, Christophe lost the rear at the fourth turn. He was thrown from the motorcycle and fell on his head first, then his right shoulder. He immediately felt something was wrong. The medical center indeed diagnosed a fracture of the right clavicle in several pieces. The technical team is currently investigating to be sure of the cause of the fall »
The Frenchman will undergo surgery this Thursday in Monaco. After which he will begin his rehabilitation process with the aim of returning to Donington Park in less than five weeks. “ A plate and screws will be installed, indicates the team manager. He will observe a week of immobilization, then work with a physiotherapist to recover his mobility and strength as quickly as possible. We hope it won't be just for Donington » she finishes.
