Triumph: Austin Forkner Suffers Fractured Hand in Houston SX Press Day Crash, Placed in Cast for Next Two Weeks
Triumph Racing has provided an update on Austin Forkner. Forkner went down in a press day crash on Friday at NRG Stadium ahead of Saturday's Houston SX round and the crash kept him out for the weekend. Triumph initially stated Forkner had sustained a hand injury in the crash.
Now, Triumph has given a little more information on the situation. In an Instagram post, Triumph announced Forkner has a fracture to his left hand and he will be put in a cast for two weeks. He will likely miss this weekend's Glendale SX and the February 14 Seattle SX at minimum.
The team said the following in the Instagram post:
Austin Forkner sidelined following Houston crash.
After his fall during Press Day, the Missouri native sustained a fracture to his left hand and will be placed in a cast for the next two weeks. The injury will be assessed on a week-by-week basis moving forward.
Heal up fast, Austin! 🦾
In Forkner's first 450SX starts this season (and the first two 450cc races of his pro career), he finished 15th (A1) and 17th (A2).
Forkner was bumped up to the 450SX Class due to the injury to Jordon Smith, who is still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. The initial plan was for Forkner to race the first six rounds on the Triumph TF 450-X then, race the 250SX East Division opener Arlington SX on February 21. This was the plan as Smith, now full-time in the 450 Class moving forward, was aiming for his season debut at the Arlington SX. This would put Smith in the 450SX with Forkner and Jalek Swoll in the 250SX East Division at the seventh round. But, there is a chance Forkner could remain in the 450SX Class the rest of the season. We will see if this hand injury changes the situation or not.
He posted this image on his Instagram on Saturday night on the night of the Houston SX.
