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MXGP, Teutschenthal, GERMANY, 23 juin 2019

Elbow injury sidelines Julien Lieber

Julien Lieber of the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team suffered a fracture of the left elbow when he crashed out of second place during the German round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship

The Belgian made an excellent start in the opening moto at the rugged Teutschenthal track in central Germany to command a solid third place through the first half of the race before executing a masterly pass for second place. The only rider in the race to set regular sub-one-minute-fifty-two-second laps he immediately started to close down the leader until he suffered a serious crash on the slippery approach to a jump on the twelfth of eighteen laps. Thrown over the summit of the jump he landed awkwardly on his left side and examination in the track medical unit revealed a fracture of the left elbow. An update will be available after further examination in Belgium where Julien will be operated on this week.
 

Julien Lieber: "The weekend started well but didn’t finish so well! I got a great start in the first moto and I had a good feeling and good lines on the track; I found a spot to pass Seewer for the second position and my rhythm was so good that I made a little gap on him. I wasn’t pushing so hard and at the bottom of the big hill I always took a line on the left of the track as it wasn’t so bumpy there. I don’t understand what happened; it was a huge crash and I'm so disappointed to finish the weekend like that."

 
François Lemariey: « After his good qualification yesterday Julien was doing a great race in the first moto and could expect a podium finish until he crashed at the bottom of the biggest uphill; it seems that he hit a soft patch and lost control of the bike, and this section was so fast that he was ejected a long way and landed pretty heavily. The first examinations have revealed an injury to his left elbow; he’s on his way back to Belgium for more examinations and surgery. We love motocross, but sometimes this sport doesn’t reward you from your dedication. We’ll give an update as soon as we know more."
 
Tommy Searle of BOS Factory was eliminated in the early stages of race one after running off-track on lap one, but advanced quickly from eighteenth to fourteenth, the placing he held to the finish, in race two.