Bad news out of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna camp in advance of this weekend’s Monster Energy AMA Toronto Supercross.
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team is reporting that two of its riders will not be competing at round 10 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, this weekend, but the reasons why may be at odds with the official team press release.
According to news issued by the team today, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Christophe Pourcel sustained an injury in practice earlier this week, and he could be out of action for a week to 10 days. Pourcel is expected to return when the series hits Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, for the Detroit Supercross. Pourcel is currently 12th in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series points standings.
At the same time, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna also announced that Monster Energy AMA 250SX East Supercross Series points leader Martin Davalos will not be in action at the Toronto Supercross due to personal reasons. Davalos is the current series points leader after having won the opening 250SX East round at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and then backing up that performance with a third-place finish at the Daytona Supercross by Honda last weekend. Davalos is also expected to return to action at the Detroit Supercross.
However, the rumblings are that the real reason Pourcel and Davalos will not contest the Toronto Supercross has more to do with their visa status, and that if they were to leave the United States and compete in Canada their ability to re-enter the U.S. could be jeopardized. We have been placing phone calls to Husqvarna officials since we learned of the team announcement, but no one we spoke to can or will confirm the validity of the visa issue.
Regardless of the reason, Davalos’ absence from the Toronto round certainly hurts the team’s chances for the 250SX East title, as he could find himself as much as 22 points out of the series lead if his closest pursuer, Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Jeremy Martin, scores another win there. Even if that doesn’t happen, if Davalos fails to score a point in Toronto, it is unlikely that he would be able to rebound and net Husqvarna a supercross championship in 2016. That’s a bummer for Husky no matter how you look at it.
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