Shaun Simpson flies from Latvia to Belgium today to see a surgeon about his broken left hand after a freak accident in the second MXGP moto at Kegums in the Latvian GP.

Simpson said: “I hit a wet patch of sand through the waves after the pitlane and it sent me off the track. I collided with one of the unprotected parts of an electricity stand and smacked my hand on a metal post. I thought I had busted my wrist. We went for scans and checks and I have broken the middle metacarpal but thankfully seem to have not sustained any damage to the wrist or radius. It is an unbelievable way to end the weekend.”

He has a flight to Belgium from Riga on Monday and is expected to have surgery to repair the fracture with the insertion of a pin and then the expected convalescence period. He is hoping to be back in Grand Prix action as soon as possible but has already iterated his desire to race again when fully fit, having suffered frustration with a similar injury to his right hand last summer.