Neck injury forces De Dycker out of British GP
By TMX Archives on 11th Aug 11
LS Honda Racing rider Ken De Dycker is sidelined with a neck injury for at least several weeks causing him to miss the GP of Great Britain and the Belgian Championship rounds in Balen and Orp-le-Grand.
The 27-year old Belgian had crashed heavily during the first moto in the GP of Limburg, now more than two weeks ago. Although De Dycker's performance was hampered because of the pain he suffered to his neck and shoulders he raced the second moto and took part in the following Grand Prix in Loket (Czech Republic).
Additional medical research earlier this week has revealed that the former British MX1 champion suffers a crack in the L6 neck disc. The impact also created excess fluid around the injury. After consulting with, Dr Demurie orthopedical surgeon at AZ Alma Campus Eeklo, the decision was made to rest until August 30.
That's when a new scan will be made and a more accurate estimate for recovery and return to racing is possible.
De Dycker had a tough time at the start of the season, but he gradually improved and climbed up to eighth place in the MX1 World Championship. Furthermore 'Keeno' leads his domestic series, the highly regarded Belgian Championship, in front of Clement Desalle and team-mate Shaun Simpson.
Ken De Dycker: "Every injury is one too many, but I was determined to fight on and put in some strong races at the end of the season. In every championship you're facing minor and bigger issues.
"As I was prepared to deal with the injury I'm really bummed now that I can't race. I was particularly looking forward to racing at Matterly Basin and meeting my British fans. Unfortunately, there really is no other option because this is a very delicate injury that we have to watch carefully."
Steven Lettani, LS Honda Racing Team owner: "On one hand we're all very disappointed that Ken is out, especially because we felt he still had more to give this season. On the other hand, I'm relieved we finally know what exactly is going on. For any athlete, and particularly for a motocross rider, it's hard to evaluate the consequences of a certain injury.
"Especially because you want to perform, regardless! So my thanks goes out to the medical staff helping Ken and to Ken himself for toughening it out under difficult conditions in Loket and Lommel. The only priority now is to fully recover and regain fitness."
