HOBART, Australia -- Formula One driver Mark Webber had surgery on his broken leg after being hit by a car during his charity multi-sports race Saturday.
"The surgery is complete, a pin inserted and the recovery begins," Geoff Donohue, event director for the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.
"He'll be in hospital for at least three days, for sure under a week," Donohue said. "I was speaking to him before the operation, and he was already thinking about his rehabilitation."
Webber, who drives for F1's Red Bull team, was riding a bicycle along a road near historic Port Arthur in the southeast of the island state of Tasmania when he collided with a four-wheel drive vehicle, Tasmania Police Sgt. Jon Ford said.
"As a result of the collision, the rider, Mark Webber, suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries," Ford said. "He was attended at the scene by paramedics attached to the event before being airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital."
Donohue said Webber had a pin inserted into the leg, and that the Australian driver had no other serious injuries.
"The broken leg is the injury, and beyond that, he's in really good shape," Donohue said. "He has a little bit of a graze on his left forearm, but he has had full scans and everything else is clear."
Webber was later transferred to Hobart Private Hospital.
Donohue said the broken leg would set back Webber and Red Bull's preparation for the 2009 F1 season beginning in March. The fracture could leave him on the sidelines for at least six weeks.
Red Bull has already begun testing for 2009. Testing in Barcelona involved Sebastian Vettel, who joined Red Bull from Toro Rosso, and five-time World Rally Championship winner Sebastien Loeb while Webber was in Australia. The team's next scheduled testing session is in Jerez in southern Spain from Dec. 9.
"That date obviously will be an issue," Donohue said. "But I suspect that as soon as Mark is able to fly, they will be keen to get him back to Europe. They will have people working out his rehab program now with a view to getting him up and going as soon as possible."
Donohue said Webber was like many elite athletes who immediately set goals for their recovery immediately after an injury.
"He has a positive attitude and a lot of determination," Donohue said.
The accident happened while Webber was competing at his charity event, a 175-mile challenge using mountain bikes, kayaks and trekking, when the accident happened.
Ford said the bike portion used open public roads and it was not known whether the stage, including the accident scene, was cordoned off for the racers.
The challenge, first staged in 2003, is scheduled to end Sunday in Hobart.
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