Aoyama Returns, But Not Ready to Race

For the first time in two months, Hiroshi Aoyama hopped onto a motorcycle. Aoyoma fractured a vertebra during a warm up session crash at Silverstone 8 weeks ago, and it wasn't until yesterday that he was healthy enough to ride.

The Interwetten Honda rider did a few laps around the BRNO track on his RC212V, and despite not being in top form, was more than happy with the results.

“My feeling is not too bad on the bike,” said the 28 year-old. “I’ve not ridden for two months so I was a bit worried at how much I’d be able to ride the bike, but I rode 44 laps in the morning and I had just a little bit of pain. I was able to ride better than I expected so I’m happy about that.”

The next MotoGP round in Indianapolis, which is just 10 days away, may still be too soon for Aoyoma to return.

“My back is still not 100% okay and I don't want to decide now if I will return in Indianapolis or not, I want to see how I feel tomorrow and later this week. This test was positive for me and I am positive about my whole situation. I want to return as fast as possible.”