2011 MotoGP

Although he finished second overall in the 2011 MotoGP Championship, Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo had a rough end to the season.

The 24-year-old Spaniard's end actually arrived three rounds earlier at Phillip Island in Australian, the same round where Casey Stoner clinched his second MotoGP title (first arriving in 2007 with Ducati).

During warm-up for Phillip Island MotoGP, the 2010 MotoGP Champ Lorenzo crashed his Yamaha M1. While crashing, his clutch hand's ring finger became lodged under the handlebars, the incident tearing the top of his finger off.

Following the crash, Lorenzo underwent successful plastic surgery, but was forced to miss not only Phillip Island, but also Malaysia and the season finale in Sepang. He was also forced to miss the traditional post-season testing at Valencia.

This week, Lorenzo began rehabilitation to get his left hand back in shape for next season when the 1000cc capacity will be implemented. Yamaha reports Lorenzo should return to the gym on Monday as his rehabilitation progresses.

Lorenzo's next outing on the track will be the first official MotoGP test of 2012 at Sepang that is scheduled for Jan. 31- Feb. 2.