Teillet out of action!
By TMX Archives on 22nd Apr 09
EUROPEAN champion, Valentin Teillet, will miss most of the summer after the serious hip burn he suffered at Hawkstone, in March, has failed to respond to treatment. The injury came just one week after his sensational victory at Valence and the French teenager has bravely fought through pain and discomfort since then.
Knowing that surgery would mean two months off the bike, he has tried to battle on and after three GPs is 11th in the world, third best KTM in the MX2 world series. And he was first KTM home in seventh place in the opening moto at the recent Turkish GP.
His injury has failed to respond to treatment and the 18-year-old has decided, together with the KTM Junior team boss, Jacky Martens, that he must now undergo surgery after all if he is to avoid long-lasting consequences.
It is just the latest blow for KTM. Mattighofen Off-Road Director, Pit Beirer, spoke of field hospital KTM' when he considered the injury list of his riders in Turkey. Jeremy Van Horebeek did not even travel because of his shoulder injury, Shaun Simpson went through the pain barrier with his shoulder ligament damage and Max Nagl is still handicapped by his hand injury.
In particular, the MX2 ranks have been hit and KTM, current individual and manufacturer champions, are in dire straits after three of 15 GPs.
Simpson is their best individual, despite his injury worries, holding seventh in the series, but the Scot is already 56 points down on Gautier Paulin, while the orange army is only fourth in the manufacturers' stakes behind Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha.
KTM team manager, Stefan Everts, summed it up when it was suggested that things should go better in the Dutch sand at Valkenswaard next week.
No, it MUST get better! he responded.