FORTUNA APRILIA COMPLETE FIRST PHASE OF ’06 PRESEASON After lapping in record time, Lorenzo today fractured his collarbone and will undergo an operation in Barcelona tomorrow. Barberá set lap times that demonstrated his competitiveness on the Aprilia. After three days at the Valencia circuit, the FORTUNA APRILIA team today completed the first phase of their 2006 World Championship preseason schedule, which has so far encompassed nine days of tests at Jerez (3) and Cheste (6). A bout of bad luck on the final day saw JORGE LORENZO crash during the morning and fracture his left collarbone, the same injury he sustained at the Catalunya GP back in May, which ruled him out of two races. The Mallorcan rider had barely completed fifteen minutes of track time when he crashed at the chicane immediately before the main straight at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, an accident probably caused by the low temperatures. Lorenzo was thrown into the gravel trap after running slightly onto the strip of grass that runs around the edge of the track. On Lorenzo’s arrival at the Dexeus Institute in Barcelona this afternoon, Dr. Xavier Mir made his first assessment of the injury: “Jorge has suffered a small fracture of the left collarbone, slightly below the plate we fitted earlier this year. We will have to operate tomorrow morning to replace the plate. The previous injury has completely healed and had nothing to do with this one. We’ll put a smaller plate in than the one he had up to now and after the operation we will be able to assess the exact seriousness of the injury, as well as the time he will need to recover.” During three days at Valencia Lorenzo covered more than 120 laps, setting a magnificent best time of 1.35.19, which is inside the current lap record. His team-mate HECTOR BARBERA completed a total of 150 laps and also set an impressive lap time of 1.35.89, despite a crash of his own on the first day. After the accident the youngster from Dos Aguas was quickly back on the pace and continued with his more than satisfactory adaptation to the new machine. The two FORTUNA APRILIA were joined on track by Alex de Angelis and Marco Simoncelli, who also fractured his collarbone in a crash. “Jorge’s crash was a shame,” commented DANI AMATRIAIN, Team Director for FORTUNA APRILIA. “The test had been very positive for everybody so it’s a pity that we all go on holiday now in this way. In any case you have to look on the positive side, even of a crash like this, and say it is better that it happened now and not in the middle of the season, as happened in 2005. I am sure that Lorenzo will be completely recovered from the injury by the time we return to action in the New Year.” The next test for the FORTUNA APRILIA team will take place on the 23, 24 and 25 January at Jerez de la Frontera.