It has been announced overnight that defending AMA Pro Motocross champion Ryan Dungey sustained an injury during last weekend’s championship round at Thunder Valley. The Red Bull KTM Factory rider will now miss High Point and sit out a number of following rounds.
The injury happened when he crashed while battling for the lead on the opening lap of Moto 2. Although Dungey and the team didn’t know at the time, he sustained a cracked vertebra in the spill.
Despite the pain Dungey showed why he’s the champ – incredibly coming back from being buried in the pack in 19th to 4th at the chequers, securing second overall.
After evaluation by several doctors this week, they have confirmed that Dungey cracked his C6 Vertebrae in the fall and requires a minimum of 6-8 weeks healing time.
“It’s very difficult to share such disappointing news,” said Dungey. “It’s heart breaking mainly because of all the hard work the team and I have put in preparing to defend the Pro Motocross title this year. But I’m very thankful that the injury wasn’t worse. I will use this time away from racing to recover fully, knowing this will only make me stronger and more motivated. Thank you everyone for your support and understanding.”
“Obviously Ryan being injured is tough on the team,” said Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager Roger DeCoster. “At the time we didn’t know about his injury and we were so proud of the way he raced that second moto in Colorado coming from 19th place all the way to almost finish on the podium. But to now know that he accomplished that battling through the pain of a cracked vertebrae shows what an unbelievably tough champion rider he really is. The plan right now is to reassess his return to racing in six weeks’ time once he is reevaluated by his doctor.”
His absence will no doubt leave a big hole in the 2016 outdoors series – it was shaping up to be an epic battle between Ken Roczen and Dungey.
The team at Dirt Bike Rider joins Red Bull KTM in wishing Ryan a full and speedy recovery.
