JDR/J-Star/KTM’s 18-year-old Australian Tye Simmonds will be sidelined for the seventh round of the AMA Supercross series this weekend after being diagnosed with chronic bronchitis and pneumonia early this week.

Simmonds, in his first professional U.S. Supercross season, has qualified for two of the U.S. Supercross rounds and is showing improvements in his speed as the series progresses, but will have ti sit out Saturday night’s round at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

Last weekend, the Houston Supercross was his most disappointing race this season as he was fighting the beginning of his illness.

“I thought I just had the flu, so I choose to try and compete at the Houston Supercross,” Simmonds explained.

“Unfortunately, my body was so weak feeling, it was hard to push and be aggressive on the track and I ended up being far off the pace of the leaders.”

As soon as Simmonds returned to California after the Houston Supercross he was evaluated by his doctor and it was determined that he had chronic bronchitis and pneumonia and would need to rest until recovered.

“Tye was really sick last weekend so we sent him to the doctor immediately when we got back,” JDR/J-Star/KTM team manager Nathan Ramsey commented. “Once we got the diagnosis, we tried to keep him off his feet to see if he would feel any better.

“Unfortunately, only two days away from the race, he is still very ill. We have decided to have him sit out to allow him to fully recover.”

With Simmonds ruled out, Dan Reardon preparing for the MX Nationals in Australia, and the team’s lone guest West Coast Lites rider Ryan Marmont already back home, JDR/J-Star/KTM won’t have any riders on track at San Diego, however will still be there showcasing the team and its supporters.