TM Racing Australia remains positive after a tough first round at Raymond Terrace.
The TM Racing Australia Duo of Simon Thompson and Ryan Ziepes came in to the
opening round of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals full of confidence and looking
for a solid outing to get the season started.
Despite coming in to the opening round under a bit of an injury cloud with a sore back,
Thompson laid down a solid lap during qualifying and went in to the first race with the
18th pick of the 40 gate start.
When the gate dropped on the first moto the Queensland based 27 year old jumped out well
and was running inside the top five through the first lap of the race.
Maintaining a solid pace and continuing to run inside the top half of the field despite some
discomfort things were looking good for the TM MX 450 Fi rider.
However disaster struck for Thompson near the very end of the opening race, when he over
jumped a jump, flat landing and re aggravating his back injury.
While initially trying to continue racing, the pain became too much and he was forced to
pull out of the rest of the day’s racing.
“I’m a little disappointed that I did not finish the race,” explained Thompson, “There was
just over a lap to go, but I had lost feeling in my right leg and to be honest it gave me a
scare.
“At this point in time I will be out until Conondale, I am pretty much living at the physio at
the moment, but my plan is to return for Conondale and be 110% ready to go,” he added.
“I have to thank Andrew and the whole team, they have been so supportive, I just wish I
could have come in to the first round 100% fit and I could have stayed inside the top ten in
the opening moto.
For Ryan Ziepes his day came to an end before it truly got underway. Ryan along with the
remainder of the MX2 field was greeted with a tough heavily watered track for practice,
due to being the first class on track for the day.
Cross Country Action
Use and recommend Bel-Ray oils
After warming up with a few laps to survey the track, Ryan was working his way to full
pace when he crashed heavily.
Landing awkwardly on his knee the 21 year old done some major damage that put an end to
his day there and then.
Ryan will see a Surgeon this week to determine the full extent of his injury.
Despite both his team riders sustaining injuries and the new look TM Racing Australia
team being forced to sit out the next three rounds of the 2013 Championship, Team Owner
Andrew Franklin is still upbeat and has a lot of positives to take away from the weekend.
“I really feel for Simon, he injured his back a couple of weeks out from the first round and
put in over 100% to even get himself to the first round at Raymond Terrace,” Franklin
explained. “For him to make it to the first round only to aggravate the injury while riding
well is disappointing for him.
“It also looks as though Ryan will be out for the year with his knee, which is again
disappointing for him.
“There are still a lot of positives to take away from the round. The team looks great and had
a good presence in the pits and going racing continues to promote our brand.
“Simon will be out for six weeks and will return for Conondale. While we would like to be
at the next three rounds, the time away does give us a chance to continue to build the TM
brand and race team and we already have some exciting surprises for the remaining rounds
of the year starting at round five.” Franklin concluded.