Karel Abraham Out For Remainder Of 2013 Season, Replacement Being Sought

By David Emmett | Wed, 18/09/2013 - 19:32

The 2013 MotoGP season has been a bad one for shoulder injuries. Shoulder problems have caused Ben Spies to miss almost the entire MotoGP season, and now Karel Abraham has also decided to sit out the remainder of 2013. The Czech rider injured his shoulder in a bad fall at Indianapolis, causing ligament damage which needs surgery to correct. Abraham is currently undergoing therapy to prepare for surgery, scheduled to take place in early October.

Abraham's situation once again underlines how problematic shoulder injuries are. The shoulder is the most complicated joint in the human body, because of the range of motion the shoulder has. To give the shoulder such freedom of movement, it contains a large amount of soft tissue and connecting ligaments. This tissue is easily damaged in a crash, and such tissue takes a very long time to heal properly, and complicated surgery to correct.

The Cardion AB team will now look for a replacement, but finding one will not be easy. They have been told by Dorna and the FIM that a replacement rider should have prior experience, either in MotoGP or World Superbikes, on the grounds of safety. That severely limits the list of eligible candidates, especially as Paul Bird's PBM squad must also find a similar rider to replace Yonny Hernandez, who is moving into the Pramac team to replace Ben Spies.

Below is the official press release issued by the Cardion AB team:

Abraham Does Not Complete MotoGP Season Because of Injury, Scheduled for Shoulder Surgery in Early October

In early October Karel Abraham will probably undergo a surgical correction of ligaments in the left shoulder injured by his fall in Indianapolis in mid August. The therapy means premature end of this season for the Czech MotoGP pilot. The Cardion AB Motoracing team now negotiates a potential substitute for the remaining five races of the season.

Immediately after return from Grand Prix San Marino, not finished because of shoulder pain, Karel Abraham started intense recovery which will probably be accomplished with a surgical intervention in the first week of October. "The current recovery procedures aim at maximum possible improvement of the shoulder function. If it were not for the positive find of the electromagnetic resonance examination we could continue with conservative therapy. When sufficient shoulder stability cannot even be achieved by targeted recovery surgery is the inevitable next step,“ explained Igor Čižmář, head physician of the Department of Traumatology of the University Hospital in Olomouc and specialist in hand, arm and shoulder injuries, who will perform the surgery on Karel Abraham. "After the intervention the operated shoulder must be fixed for less than a month after which period intense recovery may begin. Athletes with targeted stressing of the ligaments are recommended to resume full load after three months at the earliest,“ he noted. Thus Karel Abraham might resume full training load towards the end of this year, i.e. about a month before commencement of the first pre-season tests of MotoGP.

The Cardion AB Motoracing team, in cooperation with the Dorna championship promoter and the International Association of Racing Teams, is now looking for a substitute pilot who would finish the last five races of the season riding Karel Abraham´s motorcycle. "Our aim is to find a good pilot able to race already in Aragon next week. We preferably considered Czech pilots but neither the promoter nor the association recommended them for safety reasons. The priorities include a pilot experienced in MotoGP or at least WSBK racing,“ said Karel Abraham Senior, manager of the Cardion AB Motoracing team.

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Comments

The Cardion AB team will now look for a replacement, but finding one will not be easy. They have been told by Dorna and the FIM that a replacement rider should have prior experience, either in MotoGP or World Superbikes, on the grounds of safety. That severely limits the list of eligible candidates, especially as Paul Bird's PBM squad must also find a similar rider to replace Yonny Hernandez, who is moving into the Pramac team to replace Ben Spies.

Hopper has stated that, for him, the ideal route back into racing would be to start as a test rider. Perhaps half a dozen CRT rides will work.

you got me. McCoy on the new gen bikes would be awesome, actually im stuck to think of anyone better.
He did pretty good at the Troy Bayliss Clssic this year and is still fast AS on track.

Chuck Bayliss on the Duck or get Gobert sorted(now that's an idea).

Chris Vermeulen, sure no-one can spell his name and had his fair share of injuries, but he has the experience drive and talent to do the job, but they probably don't want anyone who will end the year with more points than Karel.....

While we are at it throwing all kinds of names up, how about reigning Superbike world champion Max Biaggi? Lots of MotoGP and Superbike experience, and very well at home on an RSV4, so it would probably be a smooth transition to the RSV4-derived ART.
He can have some good fun and I would really enjoy seeing him ride once more...

Biaggi is probably the most suitable based on his recent form on an RSV4 and his recent outing testing the Ducati with the Bridgestone tires not too long ago.
I was going to suggest Eugene Laverty, but his schedule will conflict.
Haga could be an option to have someone at least on the bike who has experience in most forms of top level GP bikes.
Tommy Hill is also without a ride this year so might jump at the opportunity, but does he need to have a minimum of WSBK experience?

Had some nice rides last season for the F**ing Bert team and made a brave recovery from his broken neck. Give the young kid another shot.

Realistically you would think it would be Chris Vermeulen, Ivan Silva or one of the Moto2 guys with GP experience who's not a title contender (de Angelis, Pasini, Takahashi, Kallio have all ridden GPs).

It would be good to see Brett McCormick back racing, ditto Hopper. Tommy Hill is moving into car racing so looks unlikely, Haga has just taken a BSB seat, Elias left the GP paddock one race ago, and Bayliss and Biaggi both chose to go out at the top so they won't be back racing anything, ever.

Alex Hofmann is retired but Aprilia-connected so could no doubt wobble around for a bit if there's no-one else, or there's always Jeremy McWilliams! :)

It's true that for Biaggi it would be taking away some of his magic, since he left as world champion (and still is), and on Abraham's bike he could only hope to get in front of Aleix Espargaro - which seems like a huge task already, even if he would get the same spec bike from Aprilia. Still, pure for the fun of racing I think he would like to have a go. But he's probably wise enough to resist the temptation.

Jeremy McWilliams, on the other hand, is racing just for the fun of it for quite some years now on all kinds of machinery, and is still very fast. That could be a serious possibility. Maybe he can score some record of oldest rider to get into the points in MotoGP..?
I still love what he did ten years ago on those wonderful three-cilinder KR3's of Kenny Roberts. Bring on Jeremy McWilliams!

as far as i know he has retired(doesnt mean much)from professional racing. Heard this on the bush telegraph... friend of a mate of a brother who knows this uncle that once lived somewhere.