Exciting KTM Motocross Racing Team rider Jesse Dobson‰Ûªs year of highs and lows continued with the announcement that the teenage Queenslander will sit out the weekend‰Ûªs resumption of the premier MX Nationals series as it takes place at Nowra, 125km south west of Sydney.
Dobson suffered a broken hand during a training accident over a week ago, and he and the team has sensibly opted to withdraw his entry from round 6, rather than ride and risk aggravating the injury.
It‰Ûªs another tough blow for Dobson, who fractured his pelvis while training for the second round of the series back in April, but bounced back to prove just why he‰Ûªs one of the most exciting riders in the competition at the most recent round of the championship at Wanneroo a little over a month ago.
There, Dobson qualified for his first Super Pole of the year, took a brilliant podium finish in the final race of the day, and carded fifth overall, the 19-year-old underlining his intention to make it fulltime into the bracket of elite riders in Australia.
‰ÛÏI was at a practice track last Tuesday and I was working on some sprint speed and I landed off a single and there was a wet spot that caught my front wheel and threw me on the ground. I thought it would be fine, I thought I‰Ûªd just corked my hand, but Kyle and the team came up to rebuild my bike two days later and they said ‰Û÷go get an x-ray‰Ûª." Dobson explained.
"I did and before I even saw the doctor, the lady said yep, it‰Ûªs broken! I just couldn‰Ûªt believe it. These things don't take too long to heal, so we looked at our options and the best way to go was to miss this weekend and try and be 100% healthy for Conondale and come out swinging there.
"We‰Ûªre nowhere in the championship so we‰Ûªre just chasing results for the rest of the season, and the team wants me riding 100% at the front of the pack rather than at 50% at the back of the pack. so we are better off missing this one and being healthy for the rest. We'll heal up and be ready for Conondale.
‰ÛÏWe decided that it‰Ûªs best for Jesse and the team that he sits this round out and looks to return to racing at Conondale." Kyle Blunden, KTM Motocross Racing Team Manager added. "We really don't want him to risk riding at Nowra and potentially cause a bigger problem than what he‰Ûªs already got. It's fortunate that we are in a position where we can let him heal, which is a much better idea, long term.
"After his great result at Wanneroo and the speed that he showed at Manjimup we are very optimistic leading into the second half of the championship, but it's just one of those things; we‰Ûªre disappointed Jesse won't be with us but we‰Ûªre still excited to be going back racing again after the break."
His teammate, defending MX Nationals Champion Kirk Gibbs will take the red plate and a useful points lead into the second half of the season, but he knows full well there is a long way to go and as he‰Ûªs done so far, Gibbs will keep his eyes focused on riding well and amassing solid points as the next few rounds unfold.
In the MX2 category, the team‰Ûªs KTM 250 SX-F rider Caleb Ward will continue his challenge towards the championship, having won three of the five rounds so far.
"Kirk and Caleb are looking really good, they came down a couple of days early to get back with the team, and we had a fantastic day yesterday out at the Port Kembla motorcycle club.‰Û
