The rate of attrition in MXGP continues to be a concern even before the third round of 18 in Argentina this weekend.
Missing the trip to Neuquen will be Rockstar Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos who is set to have an operation in Belgium tomorrow to fix his troublesome right wrist, while Wilvo Forkrent KTM’s Steven Frossard will travel to South America but is low on full race fitness due to problems in both wrists.
Strijbos competed in the opening Grand Prix of the year in Qatar with pain-killing injections in the wake of a small procedure to deal with tendonitis. The Belgian has been fighting adversity and discomfort since, and after taking a hard-won podium finish in the sand of Moerbeke-Waas for the Belgian Championship opener last Sunday underwent MRI and further scans.
The 29 year old was advised for further corrective surgery and is now viewing a return to Grand Prix action in Italy for the Trentino round on April 19.
“I never want to skip races but we discussed with the team and instead of having more injections and not being able to race at my real and best speed we will try to get this fixed and get back to normal as soon as possible,” he said.
Frossard meanwhile has been dealing with injuries to both wrists after an accident at the controversial first round of the British Championship over a week ago. The 2014 Motocross of Nations winner fell and was hit by another rider at Hilton Park and initially had scans for a possible fracture but his fears were allayed by the medical checks. The Frenchman will be competing for his British team in Argentina but admitted that he is unlikely to be “100 per cent”.
