Kallio to miss USGP

From motogp.com

Following his accident at the conclusion of Saturday’s Alice TT Assen Pramac Racing rider Mika Kallio will miss the next MotoGP round at Laguna Seca.

Damage to one of the fingers on his left hand means the Finnish rider is unable to ride his Ducati Desmosedici GP9 Sat this weekend at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix.

The ‘ring finger’ of his left hand was cut down to the bone in the crash meaning Kallio has lost the nail on that finger for good, though fortunately the nervous system in the finger has not been damaged. A bandage has been placed on the finger and it is being disinfected daily.

After the Sachsenring and Donington rounds Kallio will probably require a skin graft to permanently close the wound. He is expected to compete at those two European rounds with an imitation skin protection on the injured finger.

The Pramac Racing team has decided not to find a substitute for the Scandinavian rider for the Laguna Seca weekend, meaning Niccolò Canepa will make his American debut alone.

Fabiano Sterlacchini, the Pramac Racing Technical Director, stated, “Mika’s condition is better than what we thought straight after the race, but still we preferred to give him a weekend off to recover. This would have been the first time at Laguna Seca for him and with his precarious physical condition we preferred not to take any more risks and we hope he will be at his best in three weeks time at Sachsenring."