Kyle Webster fills in for Benoit Paturel
Australian Kyle Webster (24) will fill in for JM Honda Racing rider Benoit Paturel from the MXGP of Lombardy (Mantova) on September 27. Paturel suffered a broken tailbone and back injury at the last MXGP race in Kegums last month.
Webster, the 2 Australian MX2019 vice champion, is known as one of the rising stars in his own country. Although he now lives in Western Australia, Kyle was born in South Africa. He also lived in Great Britain for a while as a child.
Last year, Webster competed for Team Australia during the MX of Nations in Assen. Despite the difficult conditions, the CRF rider put himself in the spotlight with a strong third place in the MX2 qualifying race. The next day, Kyle was not lucky, but he finished sixth in the MX2, with equal points compared to Jago Geerts.
Kyle Webster: “I'm really looking forward to riding MXGP with JM Honda Racing. Everything came together quite quickly but I'm really looking forward to this opportunity. (laughing) Hopefully the third time is the charm when it comes to the weather after the mud in Indonesia in 2017 and the lousy weather in the Netherlands last year! I would like to thank my team, Penrite Honda Racing, for giving me the opportunity to race in Europe.”
Jacky Martens, JM Honda Racing team manager: “On the one hand, Benoit (Paturel) had a lot of bad luck with his fall in Kegums, on the other hand we are relieved that his injuries are not worse. Unfortunately, he will have to be sidelined for six to seven weeks. I'm happy that we can give Kyle this opportunity to show himself in MXGP. He has already shown what he is capable of in Australia and during the MX of Nations. The past few months have been tough for us with the retirement of Julien Lieber and then Paturel's injury shortly afterwards, but we are grateful for the support of Penrite Honda Racing and Honda in this situation.”
Also Yarrive Konsky, the team owner of Penrite Honda, the official Honda Australia team appreciates the opportunity JM Honda Racing is offering to Kyle Webster: “Jacky and his team run a professional program and the opportunity they are offering Kyle is fantastic. It's great to see Honda working together globally to support their riders. Jacky is a world champion and will give Kyle a package that most riders can only dream of.”
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