Picture Ken Roczen sent out on Instgram with bandages over his burnt nipples.
Unless you have been living under a rock since Saturday night’s 2019 San Diego SX mudder, you have already heard about the burns riders sustained and the thrashed bikes from the overuse of lime in the wet soil. Since then we have all been waiting to hear from FELD (the promoters of Monster Energy Supercross) and they just released a statement.
We are not sure how we feel about this statement from FELD but due to circumstances and the threat of possible litigation, I think they can not say more than it “may have caused skin irritation and damage to their bikes”.
Personally, with my limited knowledge of lime and the injuries the riders have shown us to themselves and their machines, I think it definitely caused severe skin irritation and severe damage to their bikes.
You can read FELD’s press release below.
Feld Entertainment Responds to Track Conditions Following Last Week’s Supercross Event in San Diego
Ellenton, Fla. – February 5, 2019 – On Saturday, February 2nd at Petco Park in San Diego, Ca., Supercross riders were affected by a drying agent applied to the dirt track, which may have caused skin irritation and damage to their bikes. The wellbeing of our riders, their teams and our crew is always a top priority for us at all Supercross events. Given last week’s forecast of rain for Saturday’s event in San Diego, the track crew took normal precautions to ensure a safe and raceable track. Prior to the qualifying rounds and main events, they removed the protective tarp and applied a drying agent, a lime and sand mixture, to treat two areas on the track to try and remove moisture from the dirt. This process has been used safely for decades at Supercross to dry dirt and thereby reduce the risk of accidents for the riders. It appears that the unprecedented amount of rain on Saturday prevented the lime from mixing with the soil as usual. This resulted in splashing of the riders and their bikes, which may have caused skin irritation to some riders and damage to their bikes. We are currently reaching out to each rider who participated in Saturday’s race to assess the extent of the impact, ensure their welfare and get them back on their bikes racing. We are also reviewing our existing processes to deal with excessive water on the track to prevent a recurrence.
