MXGP has been through a tough month for injury. Romain Febvre’s accident and concussion at the British Grand Prix effectively ended a tight and interesting tussle for the premier class title. Tony Cairoli pinged his wrist at the same event; another bump in the road trying to reach peak fitness and form. Jeffrey Herlings allegedly snapped his collarbone while contesting the final round of the Dutch Championship last weekend in a scare that must feel all-too familiar after the last two years and with the MX2 crown in touching distance (the KTM man has apparently been operated on and could miss the Czech Grand Prix at worse…but does boast a three round points lead). Then there was Ben Townley’s testing tumble after the last Grand Prix in Italy that could well send the utterly luckless Kiwi back into retirement.

It is Townley’s misfortune coupled with the speed and agility of both Tim Gajser and Febvre this year that has shown just how much of a knife-edge these athletes exist on a weekly basis. I’ve referred to top-flight motocross before as a form of Russian roulette; eventually it will ‘get you’. There is little ‘if’ about it. Even a Grand Prix ‘survivor’ like Shaun Simpson – a rider who has not missed a race since 2009 and a serious leg break – has had a rotten term in 2016 with illness, a sickening collision in Mexico and then a broken right hand that caused him to effectively sit out three rounds. Deep down I’m sure that most motocrossers recognise this impending eventuality and perhaps they live in denial more than any other motorsport athlete. For sure a driver knows he will shunt and a road racer will highside but a rider at the peak of motocross or supercross must have to forcefully forget the amount of weekly scares or near-misses and ignore the ticking clock that bangs out somewhere close for that inevitable trip to a doctor.

People in the paddock – and I cite team managers, mechanics and other riders – who claimed in whispers during 2015 that Febvre was due his ‘turn’ imminently for the way that he attacked the premier class in his first season finally saw some recompense in their words. The irony for Romain was that the clash with Townley at Matterley Basin and forward-facing fall was hardly his fault. His detractors might say that such rabid eagerness for positions in a Qualification Heat was unwise but Febvre was riding the same way that he does every time he exits the paddock on the factory Yamaha. I doubt any change will happen but the Febvre incident could give food for thought for Youthstream and the FIM. The presence of eighteen extra races because of the qualification heat format increases the risk factor considerably for MXGP across the season. Due to the mishap in the UK the promoters have lost a potentially tasty championship battle between the reigning number one and Tim Gajser. There have been more noises recently for a shake-up in the Grand Prix timetable with a (now commonplace) burgeoning European schedule on Saturday and full (and sole) GP programme on Sunday. I’ve banged this drum before but fans would get a full whack of action on Saturday and a chance to see, talk and interact with their GP heroes through the chance for promo events at the track and then on Sunday watch them qualify in the morning and battle in the afternoon.

Just to prove that injury haunts riders everywhere Herlings was hurt on a 450 and on national duty (mentally this must have some effect and the twenty-one year old must be questioning his extra curricular activities) and Townley while trying to further hone the factory Suzuki in tests. I feel terribly sorry for the New Zealander. Apart from the first two rounds of the season the former champ hasn’t really been able to have a fair crack at a valid Grand Prix comeback. Watching his smooth style and undoubted work ethic and application I have little doubt that a healthy and tranquil BT would have troubled the leading sect at the peak of MXGP but we only ever really saw flashes of what could have been. There was no fighting back against illness just before round three but his crashes in practice/testing might have been signs of rustiness of a full-on calendar of riding at the intensity needed to be competitive in Grand Prix and get a factory bike fully on-point.

Depressingly I think Ben’s experiences in 2016 – that deserve nothing but respect and for the way his wife, Lucy, kids and parents Grant and Vicki backed his desire to prove something to himself – will see him withdraw again from the sport. Townley is one of the more thoughtful and articulate observers and participants in motocross and his views are always a pleasure to hear. There is rarely a dull conversation with BT, and he is one of the few who can genuinely surprise you. I recall waiting for a talk and a quote at the Grand Prix of Lombardia at Mantova a few weeks ago, perhaps his last World Championship appearance. He was dejected after a tough qualification heat in which he recovered from a first turn crash to twelfth. The debrief was not yet done. His eldest son Levi was by his side in the Suzuki awning and Ben, shirtless and covered in Mantova sand, gave him a close hug and kiss in an odd – but moving – moment of intimacy in the team environment. It seemed that he was looking for solace. The gesture reflecting the struggle of a hard five months where MXGP just wouldn’t give Townley a window to exercise some inner personal need to make a statement. His scene-stealing cameo at the 2015 Motocross of Nations was ultimately a slither of a carrot on the string for career rejuvenation but the line was frustratingly too long to even provide the Kiwi with a nibble this season.

The current results sheet might not suggest so but I think Grand Prix will be a slightly less interesting without Ben around. He cannot think ‘what if..?’ because he has already achieved so much as a Pro racer but there was more to be said in his career. Whether his racing continues in New Zealand or he shocks again at the Nations I hope his final word is not lost in a mire of pain, angst and stoicism…after all there is already enough in this sport.

Photo by Ray Archer