The Active8 Yamaha rider will be sidelined for the next few months after injuring his knee during the opening AORC rounds.
By Hayden Gregory
Green had made a strong start to his 2016 campaign toiling around the top five in the overall classification and leading the E2 division. Rounds five and six proved a little more difficult for the Yamaha rider as the effects of a lingering knee injury began to show.
It was in the best opinion of Green and his team to seek treatment sooner rather than later in order to get the recovery process underway. With six months expected recovery time Green has already set his sights on the A4DE in November.
“I have battled the discomfort and the uncertainty of my knee for the past few rounds and the last weekend proved that I’m unable to race at my usual speed so it was best to get the surgery done as quickly as possible,” a disappointed Green said.
“If I had of continued to ride, all I would have done as got through the season and then with the recovery period, it would have affected my 2017 preparations so by doing it know, I can get bike on the bike before the end of the year and my aim is to ride at the A4DE in Victoria in November.
“Thank you to the Active8 Yamaha team and also Simon Maas and his team at Racesafe for their assistance and guidance through this, they have been a huge help. Hopefully I will be back to 100% in no time and ready to go for the A4DE,” Green ends.
Victorian rider Chris Davey will replace Green for the remaining AORC rounds. He currently sits in tenth place as a Yamaha privateer but will be rewarded for his efforts with a guest ride for the Active8 Yamaha team.
Greens seat in the Hattah Desert Race will also be handed over to ex-pro motocrosser Brock Winston. Although Winston hasn’t raced professionally since 2014 he has remained close to the scene and team boss AJ Roberts.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow for Josh to be injured as he came into the season fit and ready to go. He is a championship contender and no rider enjoys watching from the sidelines, so we understand what he is going through,” explains Active8 team manager, AJ Roberts.
“We elected to reward Chris Davey with this guest ride because he has been doing well with limited support so hopefully with some knowledge and assistance around him, we can continue to improve his results. We look forward to working with him for the remainder of the AORC.”
“Winston comes to us just for the Hattah event as Chris wants to focus on the AORC but we still needed someone who rides sand well at such a high profile event. Brock grew up racing motocross on the sandy Coolum track and he is someone who I have also considered to be a good off road rider.”
Don’t forget to check out Dirt Action’s recent photo shoot with Josh Green here.
