The first casualty of the pre-season period was Suzuki Europe’s Glenn Coldenhoff as the Dutchman crashed while training in France last week and broke the big toe on his right foot.
The recently turned 24 year old had to withdraw from the Valence International in France and even looks doubtful for the sand of Mantova in Italy and the Starcross meeting this weekend.
The MXGP rookie is riding a 2014 factory RM-Z450 in his first year in the premier class and had a decent outing on the bike at Hawkstone Park over a week ago, earning a podium finish. He had spent a large part of January in the USA training and riding in California with brand-mate Kevin Strijbos.
“I jumped too short on a big double, bounced back in the air and jumped off the bike. I landed on my toes,” ‘The Hoff’ recounted. “My right toe is broken but the left is more painful at the moment and because of the impact my back and ankles are also sore. On Monday I’ll go for another medical opinion and I’m not sure if I will ride Mantova. I’ll be in Qatar for sure.”
Many teams will ship their race bikes to Qatar this week for the opening Grand Prix of the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship and with the Italian series closing this past weekend at Ottobiano (south of Milan) Mantova will be the last run-out for many GP riders before heading into the desert.
