Czech rider Karel Abraham is feeling the strain after failing to score any points for the third consecutive
MotoGP race at Estoril in Portugal.
Abraham was on course to finish in the points but crashed heavily while holding 12th place with just five laps remaining as he attempted to reel in works Ducati rider Nicky Hayden.
The Cardion AB Ducati rider said: “I wasn't seriously hurt in today's crash. I was trying to catch Nicky [Hayden], but lost my rear wheel coming out of a corner.
“I wasn't expecting a high-side, and I finished up getting thrown off. I'm really angry, that's all I can say about it. Tomorrow during testing we'll see if there's anything else we can do to improve the bike's set-up.”
Abraham injured his spine during a private test a
Jerez and will have his back assessed before the next round of the series at Le Mans in France.
“Before Le Mans I will get my spine looked at. After the fall in Jerez, I wasn't 100%, but I'm not going to make excuses for myself,” he said.
“Over the next two weeks I'm going to have to sort myself out and finally get a few points in France.”
Marco Grana, Chief Mechanic, Cardion AB Motoracing, said the the team's biggest problem at present was Abraham's 'mental state'.
“This is a real disappointment - the bike was working well, and compared to yesterday, Abaja rode one lap over half a second quicker, which we were all very pleased about.
“Unfortunately, the incredible effort to overtake Hayden ended with him crashing out. After the morning's warm-up, the track surface had cooled a little, so today we chose a combination of hard front tyre with a soft mixture for the rear.
“Tomorrow we've got tests, and we'll again be trying out new settings on the motorcycle.
“The main problem we're facing right now, though, is the mental state of our rider – which after three race failures isn't too good.”