World title contender Mark Webber raced the final four Grand Prix of the season with a fractured shoulder suffered in a mountain bike accident.
The Aussie was hurt after colliding with a friend on what was his first ride since suffering serious injuries on a bike in 2008. The Red Bull driver has revealed all about the accident and its affects in his new book, ‘Mark Webber Up Front’. Webber says he needed pre-race injections to overcome the pain the injury was causing.
“On the Sunday morning before Suzuka, I got on a mountain bike for the first time since my accident in Tasmania at the end of 2008.
“I was riding with a great friend of mine. Suddenly, he crashed right in front of me and I had nowhere to go but straight through the ears of the horse! I suffered what they call a skier’s fracture to my right shoulder.
“Suzuka is a brutal track so it was a blessing that the Japanese weather gave me an enforced rest day on the Saturday (when qualifying was rained off), and a pre-race injection helped, too. In the end, we got through the weekend all right.”
Webber led the standings following a second place finish in Suzuka but effectively threw away the championship by crashing out of the Korean GP two weeks later. He then finished as runner-up to team-mate Vettel in Brazil before enduring an off the pace weekend in Abu Dhabi, ending the season third in hunt for the drivers’ crown.
So, was Webber’s shoulder injury to blame for his drop in form over the last few races? And should this man ever get on a mountain bike again? Let us know what you think.
