2019 High Point Motocross | TLD KTM Injuries & Roster Changes
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2019 HIGH POINT MOTOCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE
A troublesome season for the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM team continues. On Wednesday night, KTM’s official 250 satellite team announced that riders Shane McElrath and Jordon Smith will sit out the 2019 High Point Motocross due to a recent crash for McElrath and an ongoing wrist injury for Smith, which will end Smith’s season. The two long-time team members join already injured Sean Cantrell (fracture in his wrist from the Supercross season) and Mitchell Falk (broken collarbone at Hangtown round) and with this, the team has tapped two riders to fill the places for the upcoming rounds of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship.
Shane McElrath’s reason for sitting out High Point is a sudden development; a recent practice crash has left him “shaken up” and the team is allowing him the chance to sit out the weekend in order to recover whatever is ailing him. Despite some lingering symptoms from the bulged discs in his back that plagued him in Supercross, the summer had started well for McElrath and he is currently ranked 11th overall in the 250 championship standings (his individual moto scores through six motos is 14-8-5-10-8-10.
Jordon Smith’s decision to sit out the rest of the summer comes after months of dealing with tendonitis in a wrist injury he sustained at Arlington Supercross, the second round of the 250 East Coast Region in the Monster Energy Supercross Series. After the injury was made worse in Atlanta, Smith was sent to the sidelines for the remaining rounds of Supercross in order to heal the issue. The problem seemed to be somewhat better, but crashes in the early part of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship have made things worse. To fully eliminate the problem, Smith will undergo surgery next week to repair the tendons and will spend the rest of the summer recovering.
Cameron McAdoo is the long-term replacement, as he confirmed a minimum four-race fill-in deal with the team last week. We first discussed the new deal during his early test days with the team in Southern California, then further detailed the move to the orange bike on this week’s Kickstart podcast. McAdoo’s 2019 season has been eventful in that he joined GEICO Honda as a last-minute fill-in for the 250 West Coast region of the Monster Energy Supercross Series and scored a career-best third place finish in the 250 East-West Showdown in the final round at Las Vegas. When all of the original GEICO Honda riders returned from injury ahead of the Nationals, McAdoo was loaned a CRF450R by the team as a way to stay sharp should they, or another race team, need him as a sudden replacement during the summer, which is the case now.
For Wilson Todd, this is a continuation of his extended trip in the United States. The Australian initially planned to race the first two rounds of the American series thanks to a break in the currently-running Australian National Motocross championship, first aboard borrowed bikes from Max Lee (son of team owner and industry titan, Troy) at Hangtown and then as a fill-in at rounds two and three for the injured Mitchell Falk. It was expected that Todd would return to Australia following Thunder Valley, but this news will keep him in the United States for at least one more weekend.
Great to see an Aussie getting recognised in a very large field of talented riders!
Man, that team can’t catch a break! First I’m hearing of Smith sitting out the rest of the summer so thanks for the update! Also really hoping McAdoo can’t put in some good results!