Alvaro Bautista suffers injury blow

Spaniard Alvaro Bautista’s stunning start to 2009 came to a crashing halt when he suffered a broken right collarbone in Valencia yesterday.

Bautista, who had been fastest in each of the opening four days of 2009 250GP testing, crashed heavily in cold and damp conditions shortly before the second day was cut short four hours early by rain.

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Bautista, who finished second in last year’s 250GP series, was due to have a titanium plate inserted in his right shoulder to stabilise the injury and aid his recovery.

Bautista’s injury paved the way for Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi to clock the fastest time ahead of his rookie campaign in the 250GP world championship.