Gagne to replace injured Bradl at Magny-Cours
French Round
Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours, France
Red Bull Honda World Superbike rider Stefan Bradl will be forced to miss the 11th round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours due to a wrist injury. His place in the team will be filled by Jake Gagne, who impressed on his debut with the team at Laguna Seca earlier in the year.
Following a highside in race one at Portimão two weeks ago, Bradl underwent a series of evaluations back home in Germany which revealed a scaphulonate ligament tear in his right wrist. The injury requires surgery which will be performed this Thursday morning, September 28th after which time the full extent of Stefan’s injury – and the required recovery time – will be revealed.
Stepping into Bradl’s boots at Magny-Cours will be 25-year-old American rider Jake Gagne, who got up to speed quickly on the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 at the US WorldSBK round where he finished both races in the points. Gagne will join the already confirmed rider for the round Davide Giugliano.
Stefan Bradl 6
It’s been very disappointing news. After crashing out of race one at Portimão, the x-rays showed no sign of injury but the pain was strong. I went back home to do some more tests and get different opinions by several doctors to finally find out what was wrong with my right wrist. I did MRI and CT scans this morning and it looks like I will undergo surgery this Thursday. Unfortunately this will mean that I will have to sit out the race at Magny-Cours, which again it’s very disappointing, but it is something that needs to be done because right now I cannot use my wrist. Hopefully we will soon have some better news.
Jake Gagne 45
First of all I would like to wish Stefan a speedy recovery: I’ve been there before and it’s never nice to have stay away from racing due to injury. Obviously I would like to thank Honda and the team for the opportunity to come back and get a second shot at World Superbike. Laguna Seca was a dream come true for me, and the knowledge and experience I gained from the team throughout that weekend was massive. It will also be nice to have some experience with this version of the Fireblade going into FP1. Magny-Cours is a completely new track for me but I look forward to the challenge of racing on a new circuit and continuing to learn and grow. I have also never been to France, so it will be an exciting week!
Marco Chini
Honda’s WorldSBK Operations Manager
We are really sad that Stefan won’t be able to race at Magny-Cours. We feel that we had made some good progress at Portimão and things seemed to be going in the right direction. Unfortunately, the crash turned out to be more damaging than how it first looked, so we now wish him a speedy recovery so that he can get back in the saddle as soon as possible. The decision to replace him with Jake at Magny-Cours is quite a simple one: he did well in Laguna with us and he knows the team, so we are happy to welcome him back.