HOHENSTEIN-ERNSTTHAL, Germany — Defending MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain will miss the German GP after crashing heavily in Friday's practice session. Lorenzo broke his left collarbone two weeks ago at the Dutch GP in Assen and fell on the same shoulder, bending the titanium plate in the shoulder. The Yamaha rider requires another operation and will return home. In Assen, he raced only 35 hours after surgery. “I have decided to go home and recover after today's crash at the Sachsenring,” Lorenzo said in a team statement. “I prefer to focus on surgery to fix the plate that was unfortunately bent during the crash. I will try to recover and be back as soon as possible.” Yamaha team manager Wilco Zeelenberg said Lorenzo's performance in Assen was a “fantastic story” but that now “we have to be realistic.” Lorenzo could also miss the next race in Laguna Seca. He is nine points behind championship leader and Spanish countryman Dani Pedrosa. Lorenzo topped the first practice and crashed while leading the second. He lost control on Turn 10, one of many riders to crash on the circuit. Germany's Stefan Bradl had the fastest time of the day in the second practice. — AP
