2019 MXGP of Latvia | Clement Desalle Injury Update
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2019 MXGP OF LATVIA | COMPLETE COVERAGE
The Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team have confirmed the full extent of the leg injury racer Clement Desalle sustained in a brutal crash at the 2019 MXGP of Russia. During an intense battle for position with Jeffrey Herlings in MXGP Moto One, Desalle’s bike hit a rough spot of the track and was kicked forward over the front wheel (the battle and crash is shown in the video below). The crash happened so suddenly and in a fast section of the track, so Desalle had little time to react or counter the mistake and he was spat over the bars and into the hard-packed Russian dirt. It was clear instantly that some sort of substantial injury had occurred and Desalle was taken from the track with the help of the medics, then did not race the day’s second moto.
On Thursday, two days before the next round of the 2019 Monster Energy FIM Motocross World Championship, a press release from Monster Energy Kawasaki has confirmed that Desalle broke the tibia and fibula bones in his left leg, fractures that required surgery, and a sprained right ankle. A timetable for recovery has not yet been set, but the verbiage in the press release makes it clear that Desalle will miss a considerable amount of time. Since the 2019 MXGP of Latvia is in the middle of a string of back-to-back rounds in the schedule, the team will not have a replacement rider for the weekend and Julien Lieber will be their lone rider on the track.
Desalle had placed well through the first part of the 2019 Monster Energy FIM Motocross World Championship, with a best moto finish of second place in MXGP Moto One at the MXGP of the Netherlands in Valkenswaard, and is ranked sixth overall in the championship standings.
The Russian round of the FIM Motocross World Championship has been a success for Kawasaki during the past two seasons with overall GP victories for Clément Desalle and the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team in the premier MXGP class. Whilst battling again for a podium result last weekend the Belgian had a pretty big crash in the first race and was back on Monday in his homeland to have surgery with Doctor Claes. He underwent successful surgery to his broken left tibia-fibula but he’s also suffering from a right ankle sprain and is now entering a long recovery programme.
The team will travel this weekend to Latvia with Julien Lieber, who feels more and more comfortable on the bike and is improving his results each weekend; seventh in Portugal, Julien scores a sixth overall in France and again last weekend in Russia, despite a bad gate pick.
François Lemariey (team manager): “We were disappointed last weekend when Clément crashed, but hopefully the surgery went Ok and Clément has now start a long recovery program. We can’t say how long he will be out, but the entire team is of course behind him and wish him a good recovery. Now we stay focus alongside Julien, who show in the past GPs’ big improvements and is coming closer to podium results; we are sure that if he can qualify better that will help him on Sunday, and we’re happy to see that the testing sessions we did with him in the past weeks help him to get better results.”
Man that was a gnarly one, hope he can get healed up soon.