Shaun Simpson caught the Blaxhall fencing with his right hand at the start of the opening moto during the fourth round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship.
The incident also saw Lewis Tombs, Ryan Houghton, MX1 title rival Tommy Searle and several others involved as a number of them were left in the trees outside the track.
The race was immediately stopped and Houghton required the air ambulance, which delayed the restart by over an hour.
Related: Ryan Houghton injured at Blaxhall
Simpson’s right hand was badly damaged (now known to be fractured) but the RFX KTM team assessed the injury and made a damage limitation decision to keep Shaun in the title fight.
They taped up his broken hand and Simpson set out to bring home as many championship points as he could deliver – toughing it out for 7-4 and fourth overall. Although Simmo lost the red plate, he is only five points behind the new leader Tommy Searle.
Nathan Dixon DNF’d Moto 1 due to a rear wheel puncture but consolidated a good Moto 2 start with 10th at the chequers.
After suffering his hand injury, Simpson and the team are uncertain about the next few grands prix and will update fans once decisions have been made.
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“After today’s big start crash I feel lucky to have been able to ride in at least some capacity,” Simpson stated.
“I could only manage 7-4 in the motos, meaning I’ve lost my championship lead but I’m still only five points behind.
“It was damage limitation today and fearing I may have fractured my right hand I just wanted to ride through the pain and scrape as many points as I could and keep my championship hopes alive.
“Big speedy recovery to Ryan Houghton.”
Joel Rizzi consolidated his lead in the UK MX2Y championship with a convincing win in Moto 1 at Blaxhall followed by a fight through the pack to take third in Moto 2 for second overall. Riding the KTM SX 150 two-stroke against the 250f bikes, the young Rizzi hopes to replicate his British championship form at the next EMX125 round in three week’s time.
RFX KTM’s WMX racer Kathryn Booth once again stepped in with the guys in preparation for her next WMX world championship races.
Syd Putnam took two points-scoring finishes on the tough Blaxhall circuit in the 85cc class, while bother Charlie was forced out of the MX2 races with his nagging wrist injury, preferring to focus on his Russia EMX2t race this coming weekend.
The next Maxxis round will be at Desertmartin, Northern Ireland on June 30.
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