With the news that Max Anstie will join Ben Watson on the injury list for the 2019 MXoN, Team GB manager Mark Chamberlain moved to calm fears of British motocross fans but admitted it was a blow.
Chamberlain released a short statement on the situation via Team GB’s social media accounts. “Max Anstie and Ben Watson having to bow out of this Years MXON on advice of his doctors is a blow but thankful the depth we have to pick from we still will have a strong Team! The final Team lineup will be announced in two weeks. Heal up well Max and Ben, thanks for the support of Team GB.”
Why wait two weeks?
To many fans it will appear obvious who should get selected. So why delay?
Surely it’s not about form at this point…
There are two MXGP rounds left on the 2019 calendar. The first of which is in Turkey this coming weekend and then the following week the Motocross World Championship heads to Shanghai for the inaugural MXGP of China. Chamberlain’s two-week date means we can expect to wait until after the completion of the Sunday points-paying motos before he’ll make the official announcement.
We all know that motocross is a brutal motorsport so anything could happen to the prospective fill-in riders in those six motos.
When you are already down to one rider, in Team GB’s case that’s Shaun Simpson, there is no point naming two replacement riders, only to have to go through it all again if one or more of them were to get injured. It can become a bit of a circus.
If only Ben or Max had been injured then we would likely have had the fill-in rider confirmed by now. Just like Team France was quick to name a fill-in for the injured Romain Febvre.
Realistically, behind the scenes, Chamberlain will likely speak to the candidates so that provisional plans can be put in place for bikes and other logistics.
The fact that this year’s Motocross of Nations is in the Netherlands at the man-made Assen circuit means those logistics are infinitely easier than a trip to RedBud like last year.
Assuming there are no further injuries, who would you select as the fill-in riders and what class would you put them in? Join in the conversation with us on Twitter and Facebook.
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