FORUMula1.com

[FJuan]

Two things in Marks favour that will see him bounce back are his fitness and toughness.
Plus he is an Aussie, they're hard bastardos.

[cap-dude]

Terrible news for Webber. Best of luck to him getting better.

But I guess that means Red Bull will want to draft Coulthard into testing the car sooner than later. I mean, they need an experienced hand to develop a car this radically different.

[8-ball]

Terrible news for Webber. Best of luck to him getting better.

But I guess that means Red Bull will want to draft Coulthard into testing the car sooner than later. I mean, they need an experienced hand to develop a car this radically different.

There is only so much that Coulthard can do though because he isn't driving the red bull next year and red bull don't want to tweak the car around his driving style.

Anyway get well soon Mark. All the best

[bud]

Terrible news for Webber. Best of luck to him getting better.

But I guess that means Red Bull will want to draft Coulthard into testing the car sooner than later. I mean, they need an experienced hand to develop a car this radically different.

There is only so much that Coulthard can do though because he isn't driving the red bull next year and red bull don't want to tweak the car around his driving style.

Anyway get well soon Mark. All the best

but he can give valuable feedback with his experience with slicks and tuning the kers system.

[f1ea]

Terrible news. This is probably Mark's most important season in his whole career... Pairing with a high profile teammate. How he does vs vettel will definitely be crucial for him.

The worst about his injury is that when the tibia and perone break (the two bones in the lower leg, dont know their names in english)... they have to insert all sort of rods and metal stuff thru surgery. A friend of mine got a similar injury and it took him over a yr to fully recover... So i'm scared it will be a painful and difficult recovery.

Get well soon Mark... Wouldnt want to see cubehead again he he

[7UpJordan]

Wouldnt want to see cubehead again he he

I can imagine Coulthard went straight to Red Bull's factory, got on his knees and pleaded for Christian Horner to let him back in the team in Webber's absence and that "I'm still young, I can kick Vettel's arse!" as soon as he heard about Webber's injury.

[racechick]

Poor Mark! Just heard the news. Ive given Mark some stick of late for whinging but at one time he was one Of my favourite drivers. I have some Webber gear from his Jaguar days. I still rate him highly and was looking forward to seeing him against Vettel. I reckon Vettel would not have had it all his way. What rotten luck that man has!! hope he recovers soon.

[bud]

Terrible news. This is probably Mark's most important season in his whole career... Pairing with a high profile teammate. How he does vs vettel will definitely be crucial for him.

The worst about his injury is that when the tibia and perone break (the two bones in the lower leg, dont know their names in english)... they have to insert all sort of rods and metal stuff thru surgery. A friend of mine got a similar injury and it took him over a yr to fully recover... So i'm scared it will be a painful and difficult recovery.

Get well soon Mark... Wouldnt want to see cubehead again he he

the Fibula is the name youre after, i wasnt sure Mark had broke both the Tibia and Fibula. I thought it was just the Fibula bone. If he broke both then as you said it takes over a year to recover, so i dont think he would even be able to compete at all this season in that case!

I remember in the Australian Football League a couple years ago a player broke both the Tibia and Fibula his leg was at a 90 degree angle very sickening site! he took 1 year or more to come back and play again!

[racechick]

Just found this article and it sounds like it is both those bones. Poor guy.

Mark Webber, the Australian formula one driver, will miss winter testing after breaking his leg in a cycle accident.

Webber, who races for the Red Bull team, was involved in a head-on collision with a car while competing in a multi-discipline charity event in Tasmania on Saturday. Originally reported to be in a serious condition, he was airlifted to hospital where he received surgery to put pin breaks in his lower right tibia and fibula.

Geoff Donohue, spokesman for the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, said: "The surgery is complete, a pin inserted and the recovery begins. The broken leg is the injury and beyond that, he's in really good shape. He has a little bit of a graze on his left forearm, but he has had full scans and everything else is clear."

Red Bull Racing said Webber would be unable to take part in the pre-season testing programme, during which drivers will get to grips with the new aerodynamic packages and the move to slick tyres. "Mark will remain in Tasmania for a few days before continuing his recovery in the UK," said the team in a statement. "While it looks like he's out of the winter testing programme, we fully expect Mark to make the starting grid in Melbourne next March."

The team has already begun its pre-season programme, with new driver Sebastian Vettel behind the wheel.

[bud]

hopefully it wasnt a complete break like the example i gave above with the guys leg at a right angle. I think Marks breaks would be more akin to a fracture of the Tibia and Fibula for him to be looking at being ready for a March start?

[McLaren Fan]

From autosport.com:

Vettel: Webber will be missed in testing

By Pablo Elizalde Monday, November 24th 2008, 10:55 GMT

Sebastien Vettel says Red Bull Racing will miss Mark Webber's feedback during winter testing following the Australian's injury.

Webber broke a leg after crashing head-on with a car while taking part in a cycling event of the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge.

The Australian underwent surgery and is expected to miss much of winter testing, although the team are confident he will be fit for the first race of the 2009 season.

Vettel, joining Red Bull from Toro Rosso, says the team will have to be very focused to get their job done while Webber is absent.

"What happened to Mark was a shame and I hope he gets well soon," Vettel told the official Formula One website. "I didn't have the chance to talk to him yet.

"We will proceed as usual with testing and for sure he will be missed but it is more important that he is back next year to get the new car running.

"We have to be even more focused down in Jerez at our next test and can't afford to make any mistakes, as time is valuable."

The German driver had a promising debut as as official Red Bull racer, topping the times for two days in testing at Barcelona last week.

Vettel, who had tested for Red Bull before, admitted he still needs time to get used to the new team.

"From the previous tests I did for Red Bull Racing I know pretty much the whole engineering staff and I'm getting to know them more and more," he added.

"It will surely take some time to get the perfect understanding and finally speak the same language, but we are definitely getting there. And my race engineer will stay with Toro Rosso and I will have new people to work with."

Vettel must devastated that Webber won't be around over the winter to help develop and get used to the car...

[headless]

Just had a phone call from Mark himself. He says he is alright.
Bit annoyed at the POM drving the car but will be ready to kiss Vettel's backside in qualifying this year.

[EwanM]

Webber could be charged over crash
Friday 28th November 2008

Mark Webber could face charges in Tasmania over Saturday's accident that put the Red Bull driver in hospital with a broken leg.


Webber collided with a Nissan X-Trail during Saturday's leg of the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, resulting in the Aussie being airlifted to hospital where he underwent surgery to correct the break.


And according to the Mercury his woes may not end there as the Tasmanian police have revealed that they will study a report filled by the officer at the scene before opting whether or not to charge with Webber or the Nissan's driver.


Inspector Glen Woolley said: "Because it happened on a public roadway, it becomes a motor vehicle accident,. e must look at the criminality of it to determine whether or not there was a statutory offence... a traffic offence.


"The file will be submitted by the officer that attended, and Sorell being the headquarters of that area they will decide whether charges will be laid against the driver or the bike rider.


"It could be (for) inattention or fail to keep left. We look at the criminality of it. The injury and damage side is taken care of by the insurers."


The police have six months to lay a charge while it is up to the event's insurer and the Motor Accident Insurance Board to decide who of the two parties is liable.


"In this situation, whether or not it's going to be covered by MAIB or the insurer of the event, the lawyers will have to determine that," Woolley added.


"From our side, we look at the criminality of it, whether there was any breach of the traffic regulations. If that was the case, we would proceed by a summons and a charge."


http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3 ... 79,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[McLaren Fan]

From F1 Live:

Charges will not be laid against Mark Webber following the Australian driver's cycling crash last week, Tasmanian police have confirmed.

Inspector Glen Woolley was quoted by a local newspaper on Thursday as suggesting either the Formula One driver, or the driver of the four-wheel drive vehicle that struck his mountain bike head-on, could be charged with a traffic offence and summoned to court.

But in a subsequent statement, Tasmania Police said that while an investigation into the crash is ongoing, charges will not be laid.

Red Bull driver Webber is recovering from surgery on the two broken bones in his right leg in a Hobart hospital, but is targeting a return to the cockpit in February.

"At the moment there is pressure and swelling whenever I stand up. There is talk it will be like that for the next two or three weeks and come the first week of February we should be on target for me to be able to walk unaided," he told the BBC.

Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International

[EwanM]

Hahhaha oh well.