Lorenzo to miss Brno and Austria

Jorge Lorenzo is to miss two more MotoGP rounds, following suffering fractures to his T6 and T8 vertebrae at Assen in June, with a new return date set for the British Grand Prix on August 23-25.

Lorenzo and Repsol Honda 'agreed it is best for Lorenzo to miss both the Czech and Austrian rounds to continue his recovery and avoid any further risk of injury'.

The Spaniard's condition has improved 'but he is still in some pain and his movement on a bike remains restricted' leading to the decision to postpone his return until Silverstone, having previously targetted next weekend's Brno round.

As at Sachsenring, HRC test rider Stefan Bradl will replace Lorenzo, alongside world champion Marc Marquez.

The German had already been scheduled to make a wild-card entry at Brno, which is followed by an official post-race test that Lorenzo will now also miss.

Bradl's tenth place in front of his home fans beat Lorenzo's best finish so far on the RC213V, in part due to a torrid run of injuries stretching back to Aragon last year.

The latest injuries occurred just as the triple MotoGP champion seemed to be making progress with the Honda, fighting at the front of a race for the first time this year in Barcelona before triggering a multi-rider accident.