Australian Kyle Webster (JM Honda Racing) got caught up in a first corner pile-up in Sunday’s moto one which resulted in a shoulder injury. Further examination showed that Kyle re-injured his right shoulder that got banged up at Grevenbroich (ADAC MX Masters) last month. On a more positive note team manager Jacky Martens confirmed Benoit Paturel’s return to racing on Sunday at the third and last MXGP round in Lommel.
While Webster’s shoulder doesn’t require surgery the verdict is still harsh because the MXGP rookie will be ruled out for the rest of the season. Luckily Kyle’s recovery process should be quite straight forward. Webster is expected to meet with his surgeon Dr. Claes in four weeks team for a new check-up.
Team mate Benoit Paturel has been working hard to bounce back after the back injury he sustained at the last Latvian MXGP round. The former GP runner will return to world championship action this Sunday.
Kyle Webster: “I went into the doctor’s office thinking that it wouldn’t be that bad. Certainly because it didn’t hurt all that much. To hear that my shoulder was banged up again was a bitter pill to swallow. It’s super hard to have this happen two times in a row when I came here to fill in and got the chance to race at the highest level. Of course it’s very disappointing for everyone but this is also a part of motocross. I’m not going to dwell on it. We’ll stay positive and come back stronger!”
Jacky Martens, team manager: “It’s almost unbelievable how much bad luck Kyle has had in such a short time span. His riding was looking better and better in preparation for Lommel. To say this is a bummer is a huge understatement! The hardest part of all is that he won’t be able to show what he’s capable of in the world championship this season. With Benoit Paturel getting back at it this is surely a bittersweet kind of moment. Benoit has been going well in practice and he’s been grinding away to be as fit as he can be. Obviously he’s excited to be on the bike again but the race on Sunday will be just a matter of getting gate drops and preparing for the final triple header in Trentino.’