Feld Entertainment Releases Statement Regarding San Diego Track Conditions
Following round five of Monster Energy AMA Supercross last Saturday, news spread quickly across social media with riders citing symptoms of strange and painful burns after the race, and they all seemed to think it came from a drying agent, which riders cited as lime, mixed into the muddy San Diego Supercross dirt. You can read our original report here.
Earlier today, the AMA released a statement which, in part, said they were “coordinating with AMA Supercross Championship promoter Feld Entertainment to identify riders and equipment that may have been affected by track conditions at the Feb. 2 event at PETCO Park in San Diego.”
Tonight, Feld Entertainment released further details regarding the situation. In a press release they explained that a drying agent was applied to the dirt, and that it “may have caused skin irritation and damage to their bikes.”
The release states that the track crew “took normal precautions to ensure a safe and raceable track” and that prior to qualifying 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.” The areas were not specified, but many riders pointed to the starting line, which had a ton of standing water.
The press release continued: “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.”
In the statement, Feld said they are 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.”
They also said they are “reviewing our existing processes to deal with excessive water on the track to prevent a recurrence.”
You can read the entire statement below. We will continue to update this story as more develops.
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.