Defending Australian Superbike Champion Josh Waters remains in Antelope Valley Hospital, in Lancaster, California, Thursday following his crash while testing a Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 AMA Superbike Wednesday at Willow Springs International Raceway. Waters was testing the bike in preparation for the AMA events at Mid-Ohio and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where he was due to fill in for the team’s injured Blake Young. Shortly before noon Wednesday morning, Waters apparently ran off the track between high-speed Turns Eight and Nine and crashed. The 23-year-old was knocked unconscious for an unknown amount of time and was disorientated and combative when he regained consciousness. He was then airlifted to Antelope Valley Hospital, which is normal operating procedure for riders who are knocked unconscious in crashes at Willow Springs. “It looks like what actually happened was when he hit the ground the helmet strap had an impact on his throat and caused a small bleed inside, which leaked into one of his lungs, which caused the lung to collapse, one of the lobes collapsed,” Rockstar Makita Suzuki Team Manager Peter Doyle told Roadracingworld.com while driving to the hospital Thursday morning. “They had to put a tube down his throat, and they sedated him because he had a tube in his throat. They did all the MRI and scans and everything else, and as of 8:00 p.m. last night they said everything looked pretty good, no broken bones. He’s got a big hit to the head, but that appears to be OK. Basically, the collapsed lung was the worst of it. “They said they were hoping to remove the tube from his throat today. So when we left last night that prognosis was pretty good. Last night they said everything would be fine, but they want 24 hours before they’re going to say anything else.” The earliest Waters could be released from the hospital, according to Doyle, is Friday, but he may need to stay longer depending on what effect the ventilation tube had on his body. As far as the probability of Waters still riding at Mid-Ohio July 16-18, Doyle said, “I would doubt it, but until they pull the tube out of his throat and we actually speak to him we won’t know. “He’s got a couple of stitches in his chin. He looks like he’s gone a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson. But [right now] we can only go off of what the doctor said, and that’s nothing broken and he’s had a pretty hard knock on the head.” More information will be posted as it becomes available. More, from a press release issued by Acorn Woods Communication on behalf of Yoshimura Racing: Waters Recovering after Willows Spring Crash * Josh Waters crashed on Wednesday during a one-day test session at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. * Waters suffered a collapsed lung and a concussion. * He is in stable condition, and his return to racing will be determined as his recovery progresses. Brea, Calif. July 8, 2010 Josh Waters sustained injuries yesterday after running off track in Turn 8 at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. The 23-year-old Australian Superbike Champion was preparing for his upcoming U.S. racing debut when he crashed, which left him with a collapsed lung and a concussion. Waters was taken by helicopter, a standard precaution at Willow Springs, to the hospital where he is currently in stable condition. He will be evaluated for his return to racing in the coming days as his recovery progresses. Waters, the 2009 Australian Superbike Champion, was set to fill in for the injured Blake Young aboard the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 while Young recuperates from a get-off at the Barber Superbike test early last month.