RFX Crescent Yamaha’s MX1 rider, Jake Shipton, has made the difficult decision to withdraw from racing in a bid to get back to full fitness. Jake fractured his back in several places at Blaxhall in March, unfortunately after all the hard work that’s gone into his return to riding with the help of the team at Harris and Ross things haven’t gone to plan, as any knocks or bangs during moto’s are causing back problems that are impossible to ride with. After several valiant attempts to race which have ended in DNFs Jake and the team decided the only way forward was to take a sustained break from racing this season, this way he has the time to get back to full fitness and return to racing when he’s 100% ready, it’s unknown whether that will be 6 weeks or 3 months.

Jake Shipton, “It’s been really hard both physically and mentally as I’ve come into this season with everything in place to achieve great results, the backing from sponsors, the right machinery and a great team” he said.

“An injury like this is so hard to deal with as on a smooth hard pack track it might not cause a problem such as Patch Quick where I finished 2nd in two races against top-flight British Championship riders, but one knock, which happens a lot on rougher tracks, and it’s impossible to continue” he explained.

“It’s a tough decision to make but I really need to stay off the bike for a while then make a return when I’m sure I can finish races”.

James Dixon, “It’s tough for all of us but Jake’s making the right decision, he’s a fast and talented rider which he shows every time he goes on track, this season he’s had great starts, real speed and when his injury hasn’t played up some great results. Hopefully, we’ll see him under the awning again before these seasons out”