Tony Cairoli to Miss Remainder of 2019 MXGP Championship

KTM announced that nine-time FIM Motocross World Championship MXGP champion Tony Cairoli is expected to miss the remainder of 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship after undergoing an unexpected corrective surgery on Saturday. Cairoli, who suffered a dislocated shoulder at the MXGP of Latvia on June 16, took time off to rest and recover and missed the MXGP of Germany on June 21. He was officially announced as out for the MXGP of Indonesia and Asia (July 7 and July 14) last week but the team announced over the weekend that Cairoli's swelling had gone down and allowed for more scans, hoping to bring good news and allow him to continue to race in the championship. However, damage to the Subscapularis and Supraspinatus muscles meant he was advised for surgery immediately. The team expects Cairoli’s recovery to be between three to four months.

“It is sad to finish the championship this way and it hasn’t happened too many times in my career,” Cairoli said. “When I tried to ride last week I knew I had some problems but I wanted to stay positive about the recovery. I had more scans in Belgium and the injury was much worse than we thought so they told me to have surgery right away and it was the best solution to get healthy again in the fastest way. Thanks to the team and to the fans for the support. I hope to visit a few races before the end of the season and will now concentrate on getting better.”

With Jeffrey Herlings recovering from his incident at the MXGP of Latvia as well, the Red Bull KTM team only has Jorge Prado and Tom Vialle in the MX2 class. Prado and Vialle will be back in action next weekend at the MXGP of Asia on July 13.