Nathan Crawford focusing on Australian Supercross following wrist injury

KTM Racing Team and Nathan Crawford have made the decision to focus on the upcoming Australian Supercross Championship (AUSX) after the new national MX1 number three was injured during the final rounds of the 2024 Australian ProMX Championship.

Crawford was involved in an incident during moto two at MX Farm’s penultimate round of the season, which resulted in a wrist injury. The 27-year-old managed to remount his KTM 450 SX-F and finish the race, before remarkably completing the season at Queensland Moto Park’s final round this past Sunday.

That determination saw Crawford race to fifth position in the opening race of the weekend on his way to P8 overall, achieving his target of securing third position in the final MX1 standings. During the ProMX season he won two motos and claimed three overall podiums – at Horsham, Maitland and Toowoomba – upon return to the premier class this year.

After undergoing surgery this week, the Queenslander will take the appropriate time to get back to 100 percent health and fitness, which unfortunately rules him out of his scheduled wildcard appearance at the MXGP of China next month and October’s FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN), where he was due to represent Team New Zealand.

Crawford will now set his sights on the opening rounds of the AUSX series, scheduled for October 12-13 at Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe, Queensland.

Nathan Crawford: “Unfortunately, I had a crash in that second moto at MX Farm about a week and a half ago. I knew something was wrong as soon as I got up, something felt off in my hand, and it turned out that my wrist was injured. We were at the pointy-end of the championship, so the focus was just getting that race finished, which we did, so that was good. I got back from the race and got in to see Dr Steve Andrews on the Monday. Fortunately, between Steve and RACESAFE, we were able to come up with a management plan to get me through QMP, and the whole crew executed that perfectly – we got through and managed to secure P3 in the championship, so thank you to everyone for making it happen for me. I’ve been in for surgery and everything went well, now the focus shifts to making sure we’re ready for the first round of Australian Supercross.”

Kyle Blunden, KTM Group Australia Motorsport Manager: “Nathan showed true grit and determination these past couple of weekends, and we are very proud of him. The cards were stacked against him, but with the assistance of his personal trainer – Dean Phelps from Fighting Fit Physio – in addition to Dr Steve Andrews and the RACESAFE Medical Team, Nathan was able to get through the final round of the ProMX season and ultimately achieve an MX1 podium result overall for the KTM Racing Team. While it’s never nice to see one of your riders go in for surgery, it was ultimately the right decision, and we must now fully focus on Nathan’s recovery and plan to come into the Australian Supercross season in the best position possible. We wish him all the best through the rehabilitation process and look forward to seeing him back on the bike soon.”