Mark Webber's shoulder...

[Raptor22]

I MTB and have ridden some big events like the ABSA CAPE EPIC.
Even then, when racing for a sponsor and even if that means a midfield finish, one does not place life and limb at risk over a leisure ride when a big event is looming.
MTB is a high risk sport and shoulder injuries are the norm. I broke a clavicle a few years back chasing a mate down some singletrack. Front wheel slipped and I went down. Broke the clavicle in half, clean.
Fortunately this was 12weeks before a major race so I had time to recover and maintain fitness but not peak.

This incident of Webber's is just simply bad luck. Bad luck usually comes from bad kharma and I can't help but think of Webber's constant mind games. it would be surprising if this were another mind game aimed at Vettel.

Eithe way, the guy has to be incredibly selfish to not consider the repurcussions of his actions. Poor show in my opinion.
If I were his boss, I'd be wonderign what else the guy is hiding from me and I would certainly not trust him again.
Two whammies, a claimed b roken shoulder and a book in which he reveals these secrets. The door would be slapping him on the back of his head by now

[jimmyboy]

Webber bashing is alive and well here.. its amazing how many Airchair experts here seem to have such clear insight into Mark, his character and how it 'should be done' Please grow up, show some intelligence or move on to the wiggles forum.

[xpensive]

Webber bashing is alive and well here.. its amazing how many Airchair experts here seem to have such clear insight into Mark, his character and how it 'should be done' Please grow up, show some intelligence or move on to the wiggles forum.

It doesn't take a physician, Webber's personal shink or older brother, to understand that only a complete as****e would go mountainbiking when leading the WDC four races from the end, in the one and only chance he's ever gonna get.

But I don't think he did, I figure this is just an unfathomably stupid way of denying how he cracked under pressure.

[marcush.]

ah .come on ...
Niki Lauda got trapped under a borrowed agricultural equipment and raced with broken ribs in his 1975(?) campaign .And Lauda for sure was not having a reputation to put his career at risk.
He did confess to his idiotic antics though and bagged the title anyways...

--- happens in life ,but to not talk about it ,write a book and publish it BEFORE ending your career is a bit ...strange...maybe the end of the plot did not come out as planned and the book would sell eveen worse after the 2011season ,if Mark does not feature in the title hunt?

[Mandrake]

Some hilarious comments here. If one of you naysayers had a cycling accident, does that mean you'd never go cycling again as you'd be assuming that another was inevitable? Nope, i doubt it!

I use my Mountainbike to practice for the time I suffer from an inflammation in my right foot, and I've used my MTB quite a lot in recent years.

I once tried to ride it using my left hand at the right side of the steering thingy and the other side the other way round --> I crashed into somebody's garden......
Then I pulled the front brakes too much trying to avoid an obstacle and rolled over into a light post

Guess what, I've never done that again.....and so should have Mark, especially in his WDC situation....

[segedunum]

--- happens in life ,but to not talk about it ,write a book and publish it BEFORE ending your career is a bit ...strange...maybe the end of the plot did not come out as planned and the book would sell eveen worse after the 2011season ,if Mark does not feature in the title hunt?

The most plausible explanation I think. I can't see next year being anything other than a struggle for Webber and for Red Bull in the constructors', and once again, I never cease to be amazed at how Red Bull keeps seeming to retain him. Flavio must have a few people over a barrel.

[Giblet]

If he has a year just marginally better than last 2010, he is completely worth keeping. Both drivers had issues and triumphs, and his efforts helped to nail the WCC. What Webber needs to work on is qualifying pace, and team politics, or the lack of them next year.

This is not what he needs, and the covering up of said problem was worse then the problem itself, which as information comes to light, was a dumb move on his part.

[strad]

Lotta people makin a big deal outa this,,,It ain't nearly like Nuvolari.

[Giblet]

Lotta people makin a big deal outa this,,,It ain't nearly like Nuvolari.

Or Montoya... who was apparently playing tennis on dirt bikes.

[djos]

Q&A with Mark:

It has emerged that you sustained a shoulder injury prior to the Japanese Grand Prix. Now everyone’s talking about it…

MW: "A little bit of information can be a dangerous thing! I came off a mountain bike while training between the races in Singapore and Japan, and an x-ray revealed a small fracture to my right shoulder. I was very confident it wouldn’t affect my performance in the car, which is why I didn’t tell anyone."

Do you regret not telling anyone at Red Bull Racing?

MW: "There was no need. The shoulder wasn’t causing me a problem, so there was no need to talk about it to anyone. If I’d had any issues with it in the car, then of course I would have told the team. But that wasn’t the case. I’ve never missed a Grand Prix but of course if I couldn’t drive the car a) safely and b) on the limit, I would have notified the team."

Why did you have a pain relief injection before the start at Suzuka?

MW: "The injection was an absolute precaution. It was the first time I was going to do more than 50 racing laps, plus qualifying that morning, so I took what was the best medical advice for race day."

How serious was the damage to the shoulder?

MW: "Many people will be aware that shoulder injuries can be complex but I was lucky this mishap didn’t affect my main line of work. In that sense, that was the most important thing to me."

Have you had an operation on the shoulder since the end of the season, as reported on the internet?

MW: "No I haven’t, so I can’t imagine where those stories came from. Some people have asked whether the shoulder was the reason I didn’t do the Abu Dhabi tyre test in November, but it had nothing to do with it. I was never down to do that test."

Has the amount of press interest surrounding the injury surprised you?

MW: "Yes, I think it must be a fairly quiet week news-wise."

If the fracture was a very small one and it didn’t impinge on your performance in the car, why did you decide to reveal it in your book?

MW: "It’s what the book is all about. I wanted to give the readers in Australia a closer insight to a sport that’s pretty hard for them to follow. I didn’t sit down after the season had finished with hindsight goggles on and pick and choose what went into it. We did it at the time after each race. It (the injury) is something that happened to me, it was part of my journey this season, so that’s why it’s in there."

[WhiteBlue]

So if we believe Mark Webber:

• the accident had no impact on his driving performance whatsoever
• did not influence his performace relative to his team mate
• wasn't worth telling his team about

I think the points are a bit contradictory.

[747heavy]

what´s the contradiction in them WB.

Only question is, if that´s all true, why mention it in the book now.

[donskar]

So if we believe Mark Webber:

• the accident had no impact on his driving performance whatsoever
• did not influence his performace relative to his team mate
• wasn't worth telling his team about

I think the points are a bit contradictory.

Rather than contradictory, they are self-supporting.

Second point simply restates the first. Third point is a logical result of the first two.

[djos]

what´s the contradiction in them WB.

Only question is, if that´s all true, why mention it in the book now.

The last question/answer covers that.

[Scorpaguy]

It's Simple:

Webber is a throw back to an earlier age...a rennaissance man. F1 drivers used to have flair.

The new generation of "computer operators/drivers" just doesnt understand.

I prefer the old days of Prima Donnas....at least then you had something to like/hate. Now we just have robots.