In warm up, he had a crash, dislocating a shoulder. In Qatar, he dislocated both shoulders, returning two weeks later. Lorenzo Baldassarri is something out of the ordinary and after all ready picking up my ride of the day across all classes, he also goes as the unsung hero of the German GP in 2016.
He may have only come in to consistent form this year but we all know that Lorenzo Baldassarri will be taking his first win of his MotoGP career very, very shortly. But his ride today underlines just how dedicated these riders are to making it out on the track.
A crash in warm up looked fairly innocuous for the Italian and it looked a tad kinder than other crashes we had seen over the weekend at that corner. However, it was clear for all to see that Lorenzo was injured as he tentatively walked away. The result proved to be one that we had already seen from the Forward Racing rider; a dislocated shoulder. There was little news on whether or not he would race and I already assumed that he would just sit it out. Then, the number 7 lines up on the grid. A truly astonishing site. Baldassarri went to 5th at turn one before slipping back to 13th. Crashes happened and the Italian benefited from the departures, picking up a remarkable 5th place with what I will say now, was ride of the season so far in Moto2.
He has been one of the top six riders this year and had an unbelievable battle with reigning champion Johann Zarco at Mugello, where the two exchanged positions six times on the penultimate lap. Although his first win is still eluding him, I have absolutely no doubt that the podium finisher has what it takes to make it to the top step of the rostrum before the end of the season.
You can keep up with Lorenzo Baldassarri on Twitter @lorybalda7 and you can also keep up with the Forward Racing Team on Twitter @ForwardRacingGP. You can follow us on Twitter @PitCrew_Online and you can follow me @MotoGPKiko for all things bike related, whether it be opinions on riders or the pictures!