Roberto Lucatelli

March 25, 2007

Italian 250cc rider Roberto Locatelli was being kept in a medically-induced coma after crashing during practice for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez de la Frontera, media reported.

Locatelli lost control of his Gilera at about 160 kph and the bike hit the guardrail. He was taken to a hospital in Cadiz suffering from head, facial and shoulder injuries, along with a badly broken ankle.

"Locatelli is breathing unaided without any problem," circuit doctor Claudio Macchiagodena told Gazzetta dello Sport's Web.

"There don't appear to be any signs of internal haemorrhaging and, after initial tests, there are no symptoms either of any neurological problems. Obviously, we'll have to see how things go in the hours ahead.

"I want to be optimistic, even though the break in the left ankle is a really nasty one. That's basically a secondary problem, though, because he can have reconstructive surgery.

"The main problem is that Locatelli hit his head really hard."

Top motorcycling doctor Claudio Costa todl ANSA: "We were really afraid for him.

"When he was brought to the mobile clinic, he was in a coma. But with intensive care, Locatelli regained consciousness.

"However, we decided to sedate him...for the journey to hospital."

myxilplix · March 25, 2007

I hope he recovers soon, one of my favourite 250 riders, the old guy who's never afraid to fight for positions.

william_liu · March 25, 2007

More news:

Former 125cc world champion Roberto Locatelli has been left with 'numerous, severe facial fractures' after an horrific accident (pictured - note glove on track) in Saturday morning's final free practice for the 250cc Spanish Grand Prix.

The popular Italian veteran veered violently off the circuit and into a tyre barrier at the end of the hour-long session, prompting an immediate red flag. According to the Clinica Mobile, the Gilera rider is currently "in a very serious condition, in a pharmacologically-induced coma at the Intensive Care unit of Cadiz hospital".

Fortunately, tests are said to have already ruled out brain damage, but 'Loca' has suffered "terrible facial injuries, breaking all his face bones (nose, mandible, jaw, orbit and cheekbone)" as well as a left collarbone re-fracture and a serious open fracture-dislocation of the left ankle "which may not heal completely".

Clinica Mobile facial consultant, Dr Roberto Cocchi, will operate on Locatelli as soon as the nine-times grand prix winner is fit enough to travel back to Italy.

March 26, 2007

Roberto Locatelli remains in a coma following his horrifying crash in the final free practice session for the 250cc world championship race at Jerez in Spain.

The 32-year-old Italian broke almost every bone in his face as well as suffering a broken collarbone, punctured lung and broken ankle in the 95 mph crash at the Nieto corner when his Gilera left the track during the morning session.

He was removed to hospital immediately and operated on overnight, where doctors are optimistic that he will make a recovery.

A statement issued by the Cadiz hospital where Locatelli is being treated said: â€œRoberto is still in the reanimation division of the hospital in Cadiz, where yesterday night he underwent the first operation concerning the fracture-dislocation of his left ankle.

â€œThe surgical operation has been completely successful and the doctors have reassembled the shinbone which was very damaged from the impact against the protection barriers.

â€œAbout his facial fractures, they will probably be reduced when he comes back to Italy, maybe in the next few days. Tomorrow we hope to exclude the possibility of brain damage. At the moment â€˜Loca' is still kept in medical coma.â€

Gilera continue to be mystified about the cause of the crash, with the rider's failure to brake, accelerate or turn the bike as he approached the Nieto corner adding weight to suspicions that he may have blacked momentarily.

Moto GP's medical delegate Dr Costa remains hopeful that Locatelli, the 2000 125cc world champion, will make a full recovery in time to race at Mugello in June.

BlackHonda · March 26, 2007

hope he gets well soon

video of crash here

March 27, 2007

Roberto Locatelli's accident is seemingly still mysterious to the Gilera/Aprilia engineers, some 24 hours after the former 125 champion fell from his bike and seriously injured himself during a free practice session for the 250cc Spanish Grand Prix.

Locatelli remains in an induced coma after surgery on a smashed ankle, broken collarbone, collapsed lung and numerous fractures in his face.

Data recordings show that no braking forces were applied at all from either the front or rear brakes. Likewise no throttle either, causing the engineers to think he may have blacked out immediately after his left foot came off the footpeg, maybe leaving his foot to be run over by the rear wheel. This may tally with boot marks remaining on the track last night.

The rear tyre has no marks on it to show signs of a lock-up, while the carbon swing arm (which has had problems in the past) is in perfect condition.

Last night surgeons were most concerned about saving Locatelli's foot for everyday life rather than racing a motorcycle, even though Dr. Claudio Costa today said he hopes the Italian will be ready to race at Mugello in June.

The aim now is to take him back to Bologna by mid week.

March 27, 2007

Injured 250cc rider Roberto Locatelli will be flown back to Italy today, according to a report in Gazzetta dello Sport, after a CAT scan performed yesterday evening at Cadiz hospital produced encouraging results.

Locatelli, who remains in a medically-induced coma, will fly to Bologna for further treatment at Bellaria hospital.

The Italian crashed heavily in final practice at Jerez on Saturday and suffered severe head and leg injuries.

Locatelli's girlfriend Manuela Gilardi is quoted by Gazzetta as saying: "He will be on a specially-equipped private flight we booked for him.

"Roberto, who is still in a pharmacological coma and so he will be while being transferred to Italy, is in stable but good conditions, and the doctors are optimistic.

"Obviously no one at the moment can completely rule out brain damage for Roberto, we'll know only once he wakes up, but I'm calm and confident.

"Dr Claudio Costa has already arrived in Italy to prepare for the arrival of Roberto at Ospedale Bellaria."

The Gilera team admitted on Sunday night that they had no explanation for the accident, which happened on a straight section of the Spanish circuit.

"I would really like to know the reason for this accident," Gilardi told Gazzetta.

"Up to now we haven't yet got an answer but, without wanting to accuse anyone, I and many other people think that mechanical failure is still the most likely cause.

"I just want to understand why this accident happened. I'm more interested in this than on whether or not Roberto gets back to racing on the track soon."

March 28, 2007

Roberto Locatelli is being gradually removed from the medically-induced coma that he has been in since his horrific accident in practice for the 250cc Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on Saturday.

The Italian rider was flown from Spain to Bellaria Hospital in Bologna yesterday.

In addition to his head, face, shoulder and leg injuries, Locatelli has also damaged the ligaments in his right knee and has a suspected fracture to his right elbow, according to a report in Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Dr. Romano Guerra took Locatelli to Bologna, after taking care of him at Cadiz's intensive care department," Dr. Claudio Costa confirmed to the newspaper.

"The rider is now in the care of doctors Marco Zanello and Leonardo Pomponio, who will also check his chest conditions. A bronchoscopy will soon be performed on him to evaluate the state of his left lung and to duly wash it.

"The two doctors will progressively lighten his state of pharmacological coma in order to awaken him."

Dr. Costa suggested that Locatelli's other injuries may require less dramatic surgery than was originally feared.

"Doctor Roberto Cocchi (a specialist in the maxillofacial department) gave a very positive opinion, and explained that the state of the fractures in Locatelli's face is better than expected," he said.

"Therefore the operations will be minimally invasive.

"The bad fracture on the left ankle can be considered to be have been operated on in a definitive way, without the need of further operations."

Wild card rider Alex Debon may substitute for Locatelli at the Gilera team from the next round in Turkey.

"I am still awaiting the decision of the Aprilia directors," Debon told the official MotoGP website.

"One has to see how Roberto Locatelli feels in the days after his transfer to Italy, but all the signs point to a long recovery period for him.

"I will know in a few days if I will ride at Istanbul or not. In any case, the most important thing is that Robert recovers as quickly as possible, and I wish him all the best."

April 1, 2007

Roberto Locatelli has regained consciousness from the medically-induced coma he has been in since his horrific accident in practice for the 250cc Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez last Saturday.

According to Clinica Mobile's Dr. Claudio Costa, the Bergamo-based rider doesn't remember anything of the accident and is already asking when he can get back to racing.

"Since the first hours of yesterday night, following the sensible improvement of the lung situation, Locatelli was taken off the respirator and started breathing autonomously," Costa told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"His level of consciousness had a strong improvement immediately. He also started talking to his fiancee and to physiotherapist Francesco Chionne. Now we're waiting for the next to days in order to consolidate this result."

Locatelli will go through another CAT scan today because the doctors want to evaluate the situation once more before operating on the fractures on the rider's face

:cheer:

-tRuSt- · April 6, 2007

best wishes to him...

April 10, 2007

Locatelli leaves hospital

Tuesday, April 10th 2007

Injured 250cc rider Roberto Locatelli has been allowed to return home for the first time since his horrific accident in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Italian - who suffered severe facial, head and leg injuries in the crash - was released from Bologna's Bellaria Hospital on Saturday so that he could spend Easter with his family. He was accompanied by physiotherapists Francesco Chionne and Francesco Redaelli from the Clinica Mobile.

Locatelli will return to the hospital on 16 April so that Doctor Claudio Costa can check the progress on his injured left ankle, which was the subject of the first operation after the accident two weeks ago.

:cheer:

william_liu · April 10, 2007

Wonder how he looks like now....

April 11, 2007

Originally posted by william_liu@April 11, 2007 12:02 am
Wonder how he looks like now....

Wit lot of $$ & the best treatment he most likely look the same.

Heâ€™s planning to start riding in June or earlier

April 16, 2007

Locatelli targets Mugello return

Roberto Locatelli believes that he could be fit enough to get back to racing in time for the Italian Grand Prix at the beginning of June.

The 32-year old is unable to walk on the leg that he broke in his crash at Jerez, and he could still require further surgery on his face.

Locatelli told Italian magazine Motosprint: "I'm making progress every day. Maybe I could be back in time for Mugello. It would be nice."

The Italian added that he wants to discover the cause of the accident, even though he is trying to just look to the future.

"We need to understand if something happened to the bike," he said. "I've learned that it's either the rider or the bike not working properly, and I don't think I made a riding mistake.

"I can't remember the accident, probably because of the blow. The bike destroyed itself, so now it's hard to understand whether some part broke before the impact."

He added: "I think I can make it in one month, which means I could really be able to race at Mugello. After all I'm making progress every day.

"I've already tried to get up, but I can't put weight on the foot, the leg hurts too much. At the moment the right leg won't be operated on: the fracture is more like a crack. We'll see what Dr Costa says.

"My face basically crumbled. They put two plates on my jawbone and lower jaw, which both broke on the right and on the left side. The cheekbone was re-aligned to the other by hand. And by hand they sorted all the other bones.

"The facial orbit broke too, but the doctors say it's too early to intervene: we'll need to understand if there are any eyesight problems. If there aren't any, then they'll leave it as is.

"The collarbone broke too, in a disjointed manner. But that's not a worrying thing."

Gilera have no plans to replace Locatelli in the upcoming races.

May 15, 2007

Roberto Locatelli has admitted he is eager to get back to racing following his dramatic accident during the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Gilera rider is still recovering from the injuries he sustained in the crash, but Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the Italian will try to take part in this weekend's French Grand Prix.

Locatelli will undergo medical checks on Thursday and he could test his Gilera on Friday "to understand whether I'm ready or handicapped in my job," the rider said.

"I'm fine, or at least that's how it seems," Locatelli told Gazzetta dello Sport. "After getting so many injuries, every little improvement makes you think everything's alright. But I don't have any major pains, even though I feel the effect of all the medications and anesthetics I was given.

"The left leg is doing very well with regards to the shinbone fracture. The right leg is doing even too well, in the sense that when you are in induced coma, the calcification of the bones is greater.

"As a result, the astragalus has healed too much and I struggle to bend it. That will be one of the problems, along with the movement of the seat.

"I've also had my contact lenses changed: the right eye... has improved. At least there's something positive.

"I want to get back so much. The important thing now will be to understand what to work on to get back to normal."

The 32-year-old says Gilera have found the cause for his accident, and that it will be revealed on Thursday.

"We know what happened. We'll explain it on Thursday," said Locatelli.

May 15, 2007