Thompson to miss Macau races

Date published : 21 Nov 2009 - 11:40:36

James Thompson will miss Sunday's World Touring Car races at Macau following his crash in qualifying on Friday.The Briton crashed into the abandoned BMW of Stefano D'Aste at Faraway Bend after the independent racer had spun and bailed out of his car.Thompson was taken to hospital on Friday and although he was later released he is having to use crutches due to the bruising on his feet.He would have been unable to race anyway since his Lada was damaged beyond repair in the impact."I wish to thank the medical staff because they were very efficient and professional," said Thompson."I also wish to thank Stefano D'Aste, who stayed with me all the time. I appreciated it a lot, especially because after the crash I momentarily lost my sight."D'Aste will also miss Sunday's races because his car was too badly damaged, as will Lada's Kirill Ladygin, who crashed at Mandarin during qualifying.