Max Biaggi's title hopes were pretty slim after his crash at Nurburgring, but now, they're practically non-existant. After a medical exam today, Biaggi announced that he will not be able to race this weekend at Imola.
Biaggi, who is currently third in the World Superbike standings, fractured the metatarsus on his left foot during a practice session at Germany.
"It is a bad split fracture which, fortunately, is progressing well, said Dr. Claudio Costa, who examined Biaggi at the Clinica Mobile at Imola today. "But it has not healed and the X-ray today shows that. Max, summoning up reason, was forced to acknowledge the situation. Now what he must do is observe complete rest until Sunday and begin proper therapy on Monday in order to have any hope of racing at Magny Cours."
Biaggi is currently 95 points behind in the standings with just three rounds left. Carlos Checa could clinch the 2011 World Superbike championship this weekend if he can extend his lead to 100 points over Marco Melandri. Checa currently has a 74 point lead in the standings.
"I came here to try, because my hope was to race on this track which provided me with such great emotion last year, but I have no choice but to painfully acknowledge what has been determined by the last medical exams," Biaggi said. "The pain has not let up, the fracture is not healed and I don't have the mobility to be able to ride. It is very painful for me to be here stating that I cannot race. I hope that now I will be able to recover in time to be back in the saddle at Magny Cours."
