News 6 Jun 2024

Nicoletti to miss Thunder Valley with knee injury, potentially more

Second moto crash at Hangtown pulls Nicoletti to the sidelines.

Image: Octopi Media.

Muc-Off FXR ClubMX Yamaha has announced that Phil Nicoletti will miss at least a few weeks of action due to a knee injury sustained in his second moto crash at Hangtown. After further examination this week, the extent of time Nicoletti will miss remains unknown as he and the team will now wait to see what the healing process looks like before Nicoletti returns to the racetrack.

The crash happened early in the second moto at Hangtown while Nicoletti was battling for a top five position. Going up the rollers after the long downhill in the middle of the track, Nicoletti swapped sideways and hit the ground in a precarious position. The whole field scattered around Nicoletti and his bike before the Alpinestars Medical Team arrived on site.

After gingerly lifting Nicoletti off the track and laying him on the ground, he was eventually lifted onto a medical cart and taken away. After the race, team manager Brandon Haas told MotoOnline that Nicoletti’s knee was certainly the main injury and he was unable to put any pressure on it for the hour following the moto. Now the team states that it will simply be a waiting game to see when Nicoletti can return.

With Thunder Valley coming up quick, Nicoletti will at least miss this round and likely the following round at High Point in just nine days time. With a weekend off after High Point, there will be some extra downtime to potentially see Nicoletti return as soon at the fifth round at Southwick. Further updates on when Nicoletti will return to racing will be made available once the team or Nicoletti announce their plan.

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