Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

After a brief ride during Formula Xtreme practice Saturday morning at Sears Point, Corona Extra Suzuki’s Steve Rapp abandoned all hope of racing at the Sonoma, California racetrack this weekend.

Rapp was injured Tuesday, April 30 when he crashed a motocross bike while training in Lake Elsinore, California.

Rapp made a handful of laps on his GSX-R1000 Formula Xtreme bike, with a shoulder brace attached to the outside of his leathers, but pitted during the session to tell his team the bad news.

“I can’t ride,” said Rapp. “It’s just too painful to do the left-right transitions, and that’s all this track is. It’s probably the most physically-demanding track that we go to. If it had been some of the other tracks we go to, it might have worked, but the pain is too much.” Rapp took over-the-counter pain killers before riding.

Rapp consulted with Dr. Baum, a Corona, California orthopedist who has worked on several motocross racers, and was told that he could not have his broken right collarbone plated because the break was too close to the end of the bone, close to the neck, leaving no room to attach the plate. But Rapp said that the pain from a broken rib was what actually prevented him from racing.

“I wanted to be here to support the team,” said Rapp, sporting numerous abrasions on his arms. “But I didn’t want to be sitting around wondering if I could ride. Now I know I can’t.” Rapp added that he would stay at Sears Point, his home track, and do public relations work and sign autographs for his team.