KTM Factory Rider Sebastien Tortelli confident despite serious injury!

Sebastien Tortelli faces a two month pause after his serious fall during the MX1-Grand Prix in Portugal. But despite his injury, the factory rider has still expressed confidence after the first world championship race and is looking forward to his comeback.

Sebastien Tortelli is currently being treated in the surgical department of the Lyon hospital. The Frenchman suffered a nasty fall and dislocated his hip while fighting for victory in the second run of the Portuguese Grand Prix. Despite receiving quick medical attention, the Motocross professional is out of competition for two months to allow the overstrained ligaments in the hip area to recover. A scan has indicated that there are no other ligament or bone injuries.

"Of course on the one hand I am bitterly disappointed — especially for the team. They’ve always give me their full support. They’ve protected me from negative situations and thanks to the unbelievable dedication of the technical staff, they’ve always supplied me with the best possible bike," said the 28-year-old Frenchman. "We were totally on track in Portugal and right up to my fall we were absolutely competitive. Fortunately I don’t have any pain and I want to get back to my team and racing as soon as I can," he added. Tortelli is scheduled to leave the hospital today.

Despite the setback, Georges Jobe, team boss for the KTM MX1 Factory Team also takes a positive view concerning the quest for victory in the world championships.

"Even though we were shocked about Sebastien’s accident and injury, working constantly to be up front and achieving a top result in Portugal means that we were right there where we wanted to be. Sebastien’s injury is a setback but the current situation will bond the team and make us stronger," Jobe explained. "Even after Sebastien’s accident, which can happen to any rider in any race, the whole KTM team still totally dedicated to the coming races. Jonathan Barragan made a huge improvement in Portugal on his new bike and celebrated his first podium place. In particular, the development of the new 450 SX-F delivered excellent results and this was a big success for the whole team.

Mickael Pichon, who unfortunately is out at the moment with some health problems is receiving full support from all the KTM team. Meanwhile the MX2 and MX3 Teams have more than demonstrated that we are on the right track and have been setting one record after another in their classes. And of course we are already looking forward to Sebastien’s quick return to the team and racing," the experienced team boss and five-times world champion reported.

The KTM MX1 team will hit the racing circuit next at the German Grand Prix in Teutschenthal on May 6-7

GP of Portugal, Agueda

Red Bull KTM rider Jonathan Barragan celebrated his first ever podium with an excellent second position taken in front of 15,500 fans (weekend figure) at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal today and the third round of the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship.

The Spaniard also gave a further excellent demonstration of the 2007 450 SX-F with 2nd position in the second moto, that complimented his 5th place from race one and afforded his first spray of champagne.
While one corner of the MX1 team had reason to rejoice the other half were shocked after Sebastien Tortelli’s second race crash resulted in a dislocated right hip.

The Frenchman had confirmed his first pole position since 1998 on Saturday and was looking strong in a reduced practice programme due to persistent rainfall Friday evening had threatened to flood the track. The weather conditions could not have been better for Sunday as hot sunshine and clear skies helped transform the dark orange Portuguese dirt into a fast and bumpy prospect.

Tortelli took part in one of the best Grand Prix motos in recent years after a fantastic duel with Everts in race1. The pair were never more than a second apart for virtually the whole 35 minutes and 2 laps. Tortelli was frustrated by Everts’ defensive strategy and made a mistake and fell on the last lap while all over the back of the Belgian. He slightly injured his left foot in the spill but was able to start brightly in the second moto until Everts attacked midway around the opening lap. Before another scrap could begin the former World Champion crashed and needed medical attention by the side of the track.

His hip was reset under general anaesthetic within an hour at the medical centre but he travelled to the local hospital soon afterwards. He will fly back to France tomorrow and further news of his condition and expected recovery will be announced soon.

Tortelli’s misfortune means that the gap to World Championship leader Stefan Everts lies at 43 points. Barragan is currently 5th and 2 points away from his team-mate in 3rd.

The Champ KTM team had a decent day within the MX2 class as Tyla Rattray scored his third consecutive Grand Prix win with 3rd and 1st positions. The South African has won two from six motos and has not finished outside of the top five.

Marc De Reuver was 4th and 5th and just missed out on a third podium of the season. The Dutchman maintains his 100% top five result record nonetheless after a determined fightback in moto 2 from a dodgy start.

David Phillpaerts suffered some mechanical trouble in each moto while Carl Nunn produced an excellent performance in race one to grab 5th spot despite a poor qualification position of 23rd.

Rattray, riding at the venue where he dislocated his shoulder twelve months ago, toasted win number three but also a 20 point lead over Christophe Pourcel and team-mate De Reuver in the series standings. Nunn is 6th (his highest World Championship standing since joining KTM) and Philippaerts is 7th.

The Karcher Grand Prix of Germany represents the next stop for the World Championship team and riders. The fourth round of fifteen will take place on May 7th at the Teutschenthal circuit.


Jonathan Barragan:
"I was close to the top three at Bellpuig but I am so happy to finally take my first podium. My start was not very good in the first moto but my speed and riding was strong and 5th position was a positive result. In the second race I was quickly into second behind Stefan and I was watching his lines. Behind me Strijbos was pushing hard but I was also going for it because I could see that podium. We are working hard with the new bike and it is going very well at the moment."


Tyla Rattray:
"Winning three in a row has given me a lot of confidence and I feel good at the moment. It is still a long season and with a lot of races to run but I am looking forward to racing the whole series. Last season I was injured and only did a few rounds so hopefully I can stay injury free and keep on winning some races."


Marc de Reuver:
"Yesterday I was 14th and I thought I was riding really well! I was only 1.3 seconds off the pace so it was very close. In the first heat I got a really good start but struggled a little bit in the first three laps. I was in eighth position and slowly came up to fourth behind Rattray. I was doing the same times as Tyla and I could not narrow the gap between us.
In the second moto I got out of the gate well but Guarneri came across a group of us and almost caused a big pile-up. Cairoli went down so I had to avoid him. It has been a while since I’ve had to come through the pack and I got unlucky because Goncalves’ bike stopped and so did Pourcel’s. I lost points to Tyla but there is still 12 GPs to go."


Kurt Nicoll, KTM Motorsport director:
"Sebastien’s right hip is dislocated and they put it back in here at the track. He will have a scan made at the local hospital and tomorrow he will fly to France. We can’t say anymore yet. A dislocated hip can mean anything from three weeks to three months. They did not give an indication at the track but the fact that it went back in quickly is very good. We came into this season with high hopes but we have lost Pichon to an illness and Sebastien to injury so it has been a bit of a disaster. The only good news is that Jonathan, with the 2007 bike, is riding well above expectations."

Open Letter from Philip McCullough:

Hopefully by now you have all made it home from Ballykelly after a very enjoyable 2 days of racing. As you will all have seen or heard the racing on Easter Monday and Tuesday was once again very aggressive in grade A between myself and Robert Hamilton. Unfortunately though there have been a lot of rumours floating around the paddock of a fight between myself and the Hamilton crew after the 1st race on Easter Monday whereby there was physical action taken. It’s for this reason I feel it necessary to put the record straight and to inform you ALL that this is totally untrue. Yes there where words said but that is where it ended. In Touch / Moto One Racing Ireland are a professional outfit and do not under any circumstance tolerate this kind of action.

Anyway guys I hope you all enjoyed the racing and I hope to see you all this weekend at Desertmartin for the 1st round of this years Irish Championship.

Pichon Withdraws From MX1 Title Chase

Red Bull KTM representative Mickael Pichon has pulled out of contention for the 2006 FIM MX1 World Championship after a virus has necessitated an indefinite break from the Grand Prix series.

The former double 250cc number one was unable to complete either moto at Zolder for the season-opener two weeks ago after a course of antibiotics failed to rectify his weakened condition. Demoralised by the news the 29 year old is taking his time to recover and regain his strength.

"Everything was great until a few weeks before the 2006 season started and then I fell ill with a virus that would not respond to antibiotics," he said. "I am really disappointed as this was my big chance being back in a factory team and for the MX1 crown. My health is the most important thing however and I have to be fit before starting to think about riding again. I will still do whatever I can to help KTM to win the MX1 title and also to develop the 2007 race bike," he added.

KTM will continue with Sebastien Tortelli, who won the first race and claimed second overall in Belgium, and young Spaniard Jonathan Barragan as their main spearhead for MX1 success.

"This is a big disappointment for Mickael and all the team," said Head of Motorsport Kurt Nicoll. "It has been a tough time for him because the medical advice to rest after Zolder would have meant missing another two Grand Prix and effectively losing any chance of the title he had worked hard for over the winter. It is obviously a blow for us to lose someone with Mickael’s calibre but we want to stress that he is very much still a KTM rider and will help with further development on our race bikes once he is ready to ride again."