Team Suzuki World MXGP’s Ben Townley will undergo scans on an injured knee this week following a clash with Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings at Valence in France.

According to team manager Stefan Everts, the move by Herlings on his rider in the super final was unnecessarily aggressive, and at this point in time it’s unknown how serious the knee injury is.

“The pass on Ben by Herlings was unnecessarily aggressive,” said Everts. “It’s a pity to see that things like that happen as Ben hurt his knee. There are already so many injured riders and the season hasn’t even started yet.

“A little respect between riders is not misplaced. At the moment, we do not know how serious it is for Ben, but we will wait and hope for the best.”

Before coming together with the multi-time MX2 champion, Townley had finished fourth in both MXGP motos, admitting he was taking his time to learn the track and find the speed to run with the front runners.

“Coming back to Europe is not easy and the conditions are tough,” said Townley. “It has been quite a challenge each weekend but I’m improving every race. I started quite slow, I couldn’t follow the fast guys in moto one, but I got more used to the track in moto two and could stay with them for some laps.”

Stay tuned for more information on the severity of the New Zealander’s injury as it becomes available.