Roger Hayden to replace De Puniet at Laguna Seca

London: American Roger Lee Hayden, younger brother of 2006 MotoGP world champion Nicky, will stand in for injured Frenchman Randy de Puniet at this weekend’s US Grand Prix, the LCR Honda team said on Monday.

De Puniet broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg at the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring and had surgery on Sunday night. The team said the 29-year-old Frenchman had a titanium rod inserted in his leg and will leave hospital on Tuesday. “They say that I need six weeks recovery period to start racing again but I will try my best to be back in Brno,” the rider said, referring to the Czech Grand Prix on Aug. 15. Yamaha’s world champion Valentino Rossi made his race return at the weekend, finishing fourth, just six weeks after breaking his leg. Hayden knows the Laguna Seca circuit well and raced there in MotoGP for Kawasaki in 2007, finishing seventh. Bureau Report