Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) rookie Max Croker is on the road to recovery after sustaining multiple injuries to his right hand and arm in a major incident at this week’s unofficial Wakefield Park test in Goulburn.

The 20-year-old, who finished 13th on debut in the premier class at Phillip Island, was ejected from his Mladin Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 on entry into the final turn on Tuesday morning during what was the second day of testing.

Croker was air-lifted to Liverpool Hospital, with scans confirming a badly-broken right hand, wrist and clavicle in two places, as well as lacerations to his small finger that had to be operated on. Emergency surgery to relieve pressure effectively saved Croker from losing his hand – the damage that severe – and he currently remains hospitalised on the mend.

“It was the final corner… I went in a bit hot,” Croker told CycleOnline.com.au. “It’s a little bit downhill there, the rear wheel came up off the ground and I got out of shape. I tried to make the corner, but lost the front and it threw me forward. I think the bike collected me, because when I stopped I was on top of the bike.

“I tried to avoid it, obviously overshot my braking marker by a little bit, but by the time I thought to stand the bike up the rear wheel had sort of landed sideways. That’s what threw me past the bike – I didn’t even really have time to let the brake off in the end.”

In his second season with Mladin Racing, led by seven-time American Superbike champion Mat Mladin and this year receiving major support from Yoshimura, Croker has emerged as one of the most capable rising talents on the ASBK grid. It’s not clear when he will be able to return to the bike at this point.

Jorge Lorenzo admits his Repsol Honda package is competitive enough to fight with the best in the 2019 MotoGP World Championship, however it will form over time as he acquaints himself with the RC213V.

Transferring from Ducati to Honda for this season, Lorenzo’s progress aboard the title-winning machine has been limited due to a broken wrist ruling him out an all-important test in Sepang last month.

Despite inadequate seat time, the multi-time world champion is adamant he can achieve a strong result at Losail International Circuit’s opening round in Qatar this weekend.

“Lining up on the grid in Qatar is something I have been picturing during the entire off-season,” Lorenzo commented. “It’s a new era for me and for the team, it is a special moment to be riding for the Repsol Honda Team. I am ready to give everything to achieve the best results I can on the Honda.

“Unfortunately I am not yet at my maximum with the bike, but I still believe we can achieve a good result here in Qatar. As with every year, MotoGP is looking very competitive and we certainly have the package we need to fight with the best after some more time. I know we can achieve greatness.”

Lorenzo will join reigning champion Marc Marquez at Repsol Honda this season, making one of the strongest rider line ups on the grid.

Mission Winnow Ducati Team newcomer Danilo Petrucci says he’s been optimising his mental and physical approach ahead of this weekend’s MotoGP World Championship opener in Qatar, endeavouring to maximise his opportunity with the factory team.

Petrucci has made a number of changes to his program since being promoted from Pramac Racing to benefit his campaign for a maiden title, priming him for the 19-stop series.

The Italian ace, who acknowledged the highly-competitive field in 2019, is confident the results from testing with his Desmosedici GP19 will offer him a chance at success at Losail International Circuit on Sunday.

“I’m happy with the way the tests went and ready to begin a new season,” Petrucci explained. “From the very first outing with the team, I’ve been trying to further optimize my approach, both physically and mentally, to make the most of this opportunity. I’ve also made some important changes to my training and dietary regimes, and I feel as ready as ever for the upcoming battle.

“We managed to be fast in each session during the winter tests, but in the end it’s the race that matters, and that’s usually a different story. We have a lot of competitive rivals, especially on this track given the recent tests done here – it won’t be easy to put them behind us, but I’m confident we have some good cards up our sleeve.”

Petrucci was consistently quick throughout testing, remaining inside the top 10 for much of the two outings in Malaysia and Qatar.

Former Australian champion Mike Jones has sampled Troy Bayliss’ DesmoSport Ducati Panigale 1299 FE during a two-day test at Wakefield Park in New South Wales this week.

Three-time Superbike world champion Bayliss underwent surgery last week after crashing out of Phillip Island’s opening round of the 2019 Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK), prompting the team to call in Jones for scheduled testing at the round two venue.

Jones captured his 2015 ASBK crown with Cube Racing, owned by Ben Henry – co-owner with Bayliss in DesmoSport Ducati – before headlining the official Ducati factory team’s maiden campaign in the 2016 Australian championship.

Making a surprise entry at Phillip Island’s opener aboard Kawasaki machinery, Jones wound up fourth overall after racing to second in the final outing, challenging for victory right to the flag.

“Troy injured himself the other weekend at Phillip Island, and I had a fairly successful weekend there on the K&R Hydraulics and Maverick Race Developments Kawasaki ZX-10RR,” Jones explained to CycleOnline.com.au.

“Basically Troy and Ben asked me if I wanted to come along and do some testing for them as bit of a favour to help them out to get the bike up to speed at Wakefield Park. I felt really, really good. I enjoyed getting back on the v-twin and riding that style of bike – it’s quite different to the Kawasaki, but I adapted quite quickly and felt very comfortable on the bike.”

The Queenslander hasn’t ruled out a possible return to the outfit as he’s yet to lock down his future after racing internationally for the past two seasons, registering his intentions to race round two of ASBK aboard the privateer Kawasaki.

“I think there’s a possibility, but at this stage it’s just a focus on the test,” he added. “I haven’t really spoken to the guys about anything more there, but I’m sure they were happy with how the couple of days went – I know I certainly was – so who knows what will happen.

“At this stage my mindset is to be on the grid at Wakefield Park for round two, my plans are too uncertain for overseas, so it’s a bit of a back-up plan. We’ll see what happens after that.”

Round two of the ASBK is scheduled for 22-24 March at Wakefield Park in New South Wales.

Reigning champion Marc Marquez has declared he’s almost at 100 percent for this weekend opening round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship at Losail International Circuit in Qatar.

The Repsol Honda ace underwent surgery on his shoulder last year after wrapping up his fifth premier class crown, narrowly recovering in time for the official test at Sepang in February.

With two tests and six days of riding under his belt on the 2019-spec RC213V, Marquez is adamant more improvements need to be made, however recently sampling the machine in Qatar has offered promise in the lead up to the weekend.

“This winter has been different due to the surgery, I worked hard with five hours of physio per day with only one goal: arrive in the best conditions in the first race of the year,” Marquez explained. “At the Qatar test I felt much better than at the Malaysia test and now I can say that I arrive almost 100 percent.

“Honda has done a lot to improve the bike and in the test we were feeling strong, especially for a circuit which usually isn’t the best for us, but we have to keep improving.

“Qatar is always a special round, not just because it is the first of the year but also because of the conditions. We will have to pay special attention to the temperature and consider everything before the race.”

Marquez will be joined by incoming teammate Jorge Lorenzo for the 2019 series, the fellow Spaniard coming off wrist surgery following a pre-season training incident.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro believes adapting quickly to the changing conditions of Qatar’s night schedule will be key to the opening round of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship at Losail International Circuit.

Describing the venue as strange, the Spaniard explained the changing temperatures and humidity can offer up a mixed feeling on the circuit from start to finish of the race, emphasising to need to adjust to the conditions.

Espargaro completed the recent MotoGP test at Losail in a positive manner, finishing an impressive seventh on the timesheets – half a second off pace-setter Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

“Losail is a strange track and pretty different to all the others, mainly because it is the first grand prix and everyone wants to start the season well,” Espargaro commented.

“There is a lot of pressure. Racing in the night means the temperatures are usually quite low and the humidity is high, from one hour to the other or from the start of the race until the end the track can change a lot so you have to adapt fast. We’ll look to do our best and get the race set-up fixed as quickly as we can.”

The MotoGP World Championship will kick off this weekend, with the initial practice sessions taking place on Friday, followed by qualifying and racing on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Brad Binder reached a dead-end in developments during days two and three of Moto2 World Championship testing at the weekend in Qatar.

The Red Bull KTM Ajo rider was unable to discover a desired set-up he was seeking, admitting the team and himself delivered their all despite facing difficulties, ending the test 10th fastest – half a second off from pace-setter Alex Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2).

“On Friday it seemed that everything was fine – we had some problems but we were not too worried about them,” Binder explained. “However, over the last two days we couldn’t find what we were looking for.

“Overall, the whole team have worked hard and, although we have had some difficulties, we have done our best. This test has allowed us to assess where we are and see what we need to do to be faster. If we can fix those details, we’ll be further up the order.”

Red Bull KTM Ajo team manager Aki Ajo added: “It has been a tricky weekend, since the weather was constantly changing and made the track conditions vary, forcing us to adjust the bike to the different circumstances. On Friday we started very well, with Brad leading the timesheets, but today we had to deal with some issues.

“Even so, we are happy because we have extracted some very important information from these past three days. The Moto2 class is getting more competitive all the time, so we will have a very tight season ahead.”

This season marks a new era in the intermediate category as it transitions from Honda to Triumph-powered machinery. Round one of Moto2 will take place this weekend at Losail International Circuit.

Link International, the Australian distributor of Macna, has released its 2019 range of summer motorcycle gloves, including the Tourist model.

With over 30 years of glove manufacturing experience, Macna focuses on fit and functionality while retaining its European styling. Whether it is hot and humid or just a normal Australian summer day, Macna gloves have you covered.

The Tourist boasts premium quality and is built ready to ride. Featuring superb comfort, fit and protection, the Tourist glove offers riders summer comfort, style and protection.

2019 Macna Tourist glove:
– Premium Goat leather construction.
– Double layer palm and little finger.
– Padded knuckle and finger impact protection.
– Reversed Bemberg comfort liner.
– Double Velcro closure including 30-degree wrist closure.
– Touch tip in finger tips enabling smartphone operation.

Priced at RRP $79.95, the 2019 Macna Tourist glove is now available at participating dealerships and online retailers around the country. For more information, visit www.macnaridinggear.com.au.

Winding up P3 on the timesheets on the final day of Moto2 World Championship testing at Losail International Circuit in Qatar has injected confidence into Remy Gardner ahead of the season-opener at the venue this weekend.

Quickly adapting to the new Triumph powerplant along with new surroundings in ONEXOX TKKR SAG Racing Team, the Australian was consistently quick during testing, falling just 0.055s shy of pace-setter Alex Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) on day two before being 0.316s off the British talent on Sunday’s final outing.

“It was a good test, we ended up being fast although we did not have the best time but I felt really comfortable.” Gardner explained. “We have made many changes over the weekend and we have greatly improved the configuration of the bike.

“We made the race simulation with a good steady pace at the time of the fastest lap and I feel very confident for the next weekend. I am really happy with the equipment and the work done.”

Landing inside the top 10 at the Jerez test, and now being on pace in Qatar, it’s evident Gardner’s transition the SAG Racing squad is a promising one in just the early stages.

Gardner enters the 2019 season coming off one of the best campaigns of his career, where he earned his maiden front row start – which he was later denied of due to Silverstone’s cancellation – while also recording a career-best result of fifth at Valencia’s finale.