News 6 Oct 2016

Concussion forces Makeham out of Toowoomba supercross

Yamaha-backed SX2 contender aiming for Wayville return.

Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

Image: Jeremy Hammer (Foremost Media).

Proformance Yamaha’s Kale Makeham will miss Toowoomba’s second round of the 2016 Australian Supercross Championship due to a head injury sustained at Jimboomba’s opening round on 17 September.

Entering the season opening event with high expectations, the SX2 contender’s night quickly unraveled following a crash during the first practice session.

“Round one definitely didn’t go to plan,” Makeham told MotoOnline.com.au. “In the first practice I chose the wrong gear for a rhythm section and came up short and had a pretty big crash. My body felt alright, but I had hit my head pretty good. I knew I wasn’t right, but being round one and how hard we hard worked, I didn’t want to let anyone down so I kept going.

“It was pretty evident that I had a concussion. In qualifying I could do one lap and then I would get dizzy and I couldn’t concentrate on anything. It was the same thing in the heat, I did a few laps and just went backwards, then in the LCQ it happened again and I just had to pull the pin.”

Seeking medical attention following the event, the Victorian was advised to take up to one month off to allow the serious injury to heal before returning to the track.

“The next couple of weeks following the event, it just seemed to get worse and I didn’t really recover too quickly – I’ve had concussions before, but nothing like this,” he explained. “Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have ridden, but I did my best.

“It’s been three weeks and I haven’t ridden yet, I was advised to take three to four weeks off and I’ll be sitting out round two with the plan of being back fit and healthy for round three.”

Makeham will return at Wayville in South Australia for round three of the series on 29 October where he plans to restart his 2016 supercross campaign.

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