CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle will be looking to battle through this weekend’s Grand Prix of Belgium at Lommel and then use the extended break in August to rest and rehab an injured right thumb.
The Brit yanked his hand in the closing stages of the sixth round of the Maxxis British Championship on July 20 and was already having to deal with the handicap at Loket for last weekend’s GP of Czech Republic where he took 14th overall. “On some of the downhills it was hard to keep a good grip and feeling on the bars,” he said.
The former MX2 championship runner-up is at the centre of gossip surrounding his future and a saddle next to world champion Tony Cairoli in the Red Bull KTM team for 2015.
The move is not yet official but if true and confirmed then it will mean a return to the factory fold where he was close to the MX2 crown in 2008 after a season-long tussle with Cairoli and then team-mate Tyla Rattray. Searle could form part of a three-man MXGP attack by the Austrians with Ken De Dycker keeping his seat.
2014 has been a tough second season in the premier class for the 25-year-old mainly due to the broken wrist he suffered in a scary crash in Thailand for just the second round of the campaign. If Searle does re-join KTM then it will be the first time the UK has a full works racer in the premier class since Billy Mackenzie rode for Jan De Groot’s Kawasaki set-up in 2007.
One thing is for certain Searle will not be a member of the French CLS team for 2015 and where he has been racing since 2010. The squad owned by JJ Luisetti is set to focus solely on the MX2 class with Dylan Ferrandis, Jordi Tixier (allegedly) and Thomas Covington next year. Alessandro Lupino is also searching for a deal after the 23-year-old needs to head into MXGP for ’15.
