Pawel Szkopek Escapes Injury in Red-Flag Crash
Team Toth rider luckily suffers only minor injury in Race 2 fall at Laguna Seca
Polish rider Pawel Szkopek crashed on lap 5 of Race 2 of Round 9 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with the serious-looking incident at Turn 6 bringing out the Red Flag. After having been assessed following the crash, the Toth rider has only a broken toe and no serious injuries.
The Pole intends to race in his home national Championship upon his return from California, and should be unaffected for Round 10 of WorldSBK at Lausitzring.
"Laguna Seca is like a rollercoaster and so was my weekend but my American dream finished with a typical, Hollywood-style happy ending,” said Szkopek. “We made good progress with the new gearbox and I was hoping to battle for more points in the races. Saturday was tricky though as I lost my wedding ring on the grid and got a bit distracted. On Sunday the traction control didn't cut in and I was sent flying in turn six. My left leg got stuck under the bike but I walked away with just a small fracture to my toe, which obviously won't stop me from racing in the Polish Championship the next weekend. I might need a bigger left boot for my swollen foot though!”
WorldSBK now enjoys a summer break, before bikes are back on track in September in Germany.
