Lapierre gets green light to drive
Nicolas Lapierre has been cleared to make his GP2 comeback at Hockenheim this weekend, ending an eight-week lay-off through injury, autosport.com can reveal
Lapierre will return to his Arden team, hoping to boost their championship position, which has suffered since he was forced out after the Monaco accident in which he displaced two vertebrae. The team have not scored a point since Monaco.
He was cleared to race late last night after driving 60 laps of Magny-Cours yesterday afternoon in a Formula Renault car.
He said: "It's so good after being out of the cockpit so long. And I'm glad to be coming back at Hockenheim, because it's a circuit that I like and know pretty well.
"I hope now that I can score some valuable points for the team. I was able to train pretty well while I was injured, after an initial period when I wasn't able to do much, and this weekend will be my first exam, to see how good the recovery was."
Lapierre has undergone an intensive rehabilitation period over the past eight weeks, including visits to a specialist spinal injury clinic in Finland to speed his recovery. But only in the past ten days has he been able to train intensively to regain strength and fitness.
Arden team boss Christian Horner said: "It's great news for us to have Nicolas back in the car. He has recovered remarkably well after what was a pretty nasty accident and we're looking forward to having him back in the team. He started the season as a championship contender, and while that's obviously out of the question now, we want him to go for wins as hard as he can and gain maximum points for the team."
Arden are currently fourth in the championship with 50 points, but are still hoping to beat Piquet Sports to the runner-up spot.
Lapierre's manager Didier Coton said: "Nico was in good physical shape before the season as he trained a lot over the winter. But the period out of the cockpit has been difficult for him, even though he has kept his spirits up really well.
"He has had to build up his fitness step by step after the injury, but nothing replaces driving. It was great news for him yesterday to get the 'ok'."
Lapierre added: "I am absolutely raring to go obviously, but I cannot tell exactly how I will fell until I get in the car on Friday. That will be the real test."
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