BMW 'confident' Ralf will race in China

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from planetf1.com:

BMW 'confident' Ralf will race in China

Friday September 03 2004

Despite having to endure one delay after another, BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen is confident that Ralf Schumacher will return to action in the days following the Italian GP.

Although Ralf received "a green light from a medical point of view to participate in Monza", he was excluded from this week's three-day test after Williams' insurance company refused to cover him. The insurers are insisting that Ralf sits out the full twelve weeks he was told he'd need to take to fully recuperate from the injuries he sustained in his June 20 Indianapolis crash. This means he will also miss next weekend's Italian GP.

However, once the twelve week period has been completed Ralf will once again be covered by the insurers and cleared to race. Should everything go according to plan he is expected to take part in Williams' pre-China test programme, after which he'll should line up on the Shanghai grid.

"Unfortunately, Ralf has been told that he may contest neither the Monza tests nor the Italian GP and may not return to the c##Kpit until twelve weeks after his Indianapolis accident examination," Theissen said.

"However, we are fully confident that he will be back in the c##Kpit of the FW26 after the Italian GP."