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The grid for tomorrow's Malaysian MotoGP race at Sepang has been cut from 18 to just 16 today. After the announcement that John Hopkins was pulling out (http://www.ninjette.org/news/2011/10/22/hopkins_out_of_sepang_motogp_as_hand_inj.html) due to his finger injury flaring up again, Yamaha's Ben Spies has also confirmed that he will not be able to race at Sepang. The Texan is still suffering badly from the injuries he picked up in a very high-speed crash at Phillip Island, where he suffered a concussion and damaged ribs, and after consulting with the team, Spies decided against racing on Sunday.

Spies damaged ribs, especially, have been very hard at Sepang, which features two of the hardest braking sections of the season on two successive corners. The strain imposed by braking from 300 km/h down to under 100 twice in a row places massive strain on on the riders' upper bodies, and this stress was proving too much for Spies. That became evident in two heavy crashes the Texan suffered on both Friday and Saturday, merely adding to Spies' misery.

Spies will also miss the test scheduled for Monday, leaving only Yamaha test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga to ride Yamaha's 2012 M1. Spies will head back home to concentrate on recovering for the final round of MotoGP at Valencia, in two weeks' time.

Below is the official Yamaha press release announcing Spies' withdrawal:

read more (http://motomatters.com/news/2011/10/22/ben_spies_pulls_out_of_sepang_with_rib_i.html)

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