Dylan Walsh’s MXGB title hopes took a heavy hit at Foxhill on Saturday when he sustained severe ligament damage in a crash.
The British-born Kiwi went into the spectacular Wiltshire venue just four points adrift of leader Tommy Searle following the opening three rounds and it was while chasing fellow title challenger Harri Kullas for the lead he went down,
Walsh and Kullas were three-seconds-a-lap faster than everyone else when, around half-distance, the Revo Kawasaki man clipped something with his rear wheel.
The bike stepped out and he caught his left foot in a rut which twisted his ankle and put him on the ground. Team boss Mark Yates took him to the nearby Great Western Hospital in Swindon where an X-ray confirmed Dylan no broken bones but serious ligament damage was diagnosed.
“Itās one of those things. We went into Foxhill with a four-point deficit and at the point he crashed that was down to two points but now our championship hopes are gone,” said Yates.
āThe good news is that nothingās broken but the ligament damage is pretty severe so heās going to be out for a while. Dylanās absolutely gutted because he wanted to win the MX1 championship to add to his MX2 title. I really feel for him and for the team.
āDylan had caught Harri up and was weighing up where he could make a move. Harri was faster in some sections and Dylan was faster in others but I think he knew where he could have him and was biding his time. He was flying ā him and Harri were three-seconds-a-lap faster than anyone else. They were doing 2:15s and no-one else was going under 2:18.
āRealistically, our title hopes have gone out of the window but Dylan was really showing his speed ā although his pace has never been in doubt. Itās unfortunate but thatās the nature of the sport.
āThereās five weeks until round five at Blaxhall and he might be ready for that. Weāre just going to go out and try and win what motos we can now the pressure of fighting for the championship is off.ā
