Leon Camier injured again, forced to skip Jerez WorldSBK test
Michele Pirro will replace Leon Camier at Barni Ducati for this week's WorldSBK test at Jerez following another injury for the Briton
In the year he was forced to miss six rounds of the 2019 WorldSBK season through injury, Leon Camier will now miss the final two-day test of the 2019 season after picking up a new wrist and shoulder complaint during the most recent out at Motorland Aragon.
Making his debut earlier this month with the privateer Barni Ducati team he will compete with in the 2020 WorldSBK Championship, Camier fell on the second day and needed treatment on his shoulder and wrist. He was diagnosed with a fracture in both but for now won't need to undergo an operation.
As such, it means Camier won’t be back on the Ducati Panigale V4 R until next year now with Ducati test rider Michele Pirro called up to take his position.
It is a situation that appeared to draw some ire from a frustrated Barni Racing Ducati team boss Marco Barnabo.
“I'm a little bit disappointed because Leon need to improve the feeling with the bike, but his physical conditions is the most important thing. That's why we decided, by common agreement, not to take risks.
“However, we have already planned to test new components on the bike and for this reason we decided to be on track with Michele, a rider we are very familiar with and extremely sensitive in riding. I think he can show us the right way to develop the bike for Leon.”
More injury woes to cap off painful year for Leon Camier
This latest injury compounds a desperately frustrating season for Camier, a rider that has been prone to a number of untimely ailments during his time competing in WorldSBK.
The 2019 WorldSBK arguably represented his worst injury though with a crash – caused when he struck an unsighted bike that had fallen in front of him – leaving him with serious ligament damage in his shoulder that required surgery.
Missing six rounds over a period of four months, Camier nonetheless showed the under-performing Honda what it had been missing on his return to action when he scored its best result of the year on his comeback. It was that performance that earned him a fresh chance in 2020 with the Barni Ducati, a regular podium winner with Xavi Fores in 2018.
On the plus side, only GRT Yamaha will have competed in both tests, while Puccetti Kawasaki and Pedercini Kawasaki are joining the ranks for this week’s Jerez outing.
