Dutch 125 ace Rick Elzinga was having a great day at the office in Mantova last weekend.
He had taken the first moto win at the Internazionali d’Italia MX final round and was running well in moto two ā looking likely for a podium with a third-place position.
Then his weekend was turned upside down.
The MJC Yamaha Official pilot was hunting down second place when he took the triple ā like he had successfully done all day ā when suddenly he found himself lacking the speed to make the jump. Elzinga crashed hard and was left with two broken wrists. He’s now back in the Netherlands waiting for surgery.
Although it’s a devastating blow to his season he’s keeping up his spirits and vows to be back.
See also: Rick Elzinga and the rest of the Yamaha Euro riders in action in this pre-season video
“How close can happiness go together with bad luck,” the Dutchman wrote on his Facebook page. “My first race in Mantova was perfect…everything was perfect and I finished #1. [A] great moment!
“Second race also very good. After the first laps I had P3 and was hunting for P2…then it went wrong. I picked another line, I had the speed and wanted to take the triple, as I did the whole day…but suddenly the speed was gone for a moment. Then you are already in the air and you know that you don’t get a nice landing. But this I did not expect.
“Both my wrists are broken. Last night we drove back to Holland to see the doctor and now I wait for surgery.
“Sometimes you ask WHY…but you don’t get an answer on that. I did my best and I will be back again.”
Everyone at Dirt Bike Rider wishes Rick a full and speedy recovery ā hopefully, we’ll see him back before the end of the season.
