Worried about Phillip Tonn: The 20-year-old from Mattstedt fears for his career

After Phillip Tonn had to skip the Sportbike World Championship event in Most in May at short notice, it was clear that the subsequent race in Aragon would not work out either. At the time, he had hoped to be able to compete again at the fifth race of the season in Misano, but that didn't materialise either.

In an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com, the 20-year-old explained the severity of his left hand injury: "During a practice crash, I slid across the tarmac with my hand under the handlebars. I scraped the joint capsules on my index and middle finger and cut the extensor tendons. I could see right down to the bone and was in total shock at first."

The damaged tendons were not only torn, but about a centimetre was missing. And because a lot of tissue had been destroyed, it was not possible to operate immediately. When an infection was added before Most, the planned, very complicated operation had to be brought forward. This involved cutting other tendons in half lengthways and using the resulting material to close the gap.

The Kove pilot is now on the road to recovery, but he still has a long way to go. "I'm still doing a lot of physiotherapy and trying everything I can to be able to ride again. Unfortunately, everything is worse than we had hoped. The recovery of my fingers is unfortunately very impaired. At the moment it's not clear what will happen next, but after Misano there will be a longer break."

The next event with the Sportbike class is not scheduled until the beginning of September in Magny-Cours. Currently, the usability of the affected fingers is still severely limited. Tonn can neither fully extend nor close his fingers because the tendons are still too short.

When something is wrong with your hand at the age of 20, it makes you think.

Phillip Tonn

Racing again is one thing, but even without motorsport, the Mattstedt native still has a long life ahead of him. "It's a daft situation when you can't move your hand properly. I also don't really know yet to what extent I will remain impaired. The doctor said that there might be a stretch deficit. It will probably be enough for motorbike riding, but mentally it has also been very difficult for me recently. When something is wrong with your hand at the age of 20, it makes you think."

What's more, the Thuringian is experiencing his second horror season in a row. His Kove Racing Team 109 is still fully behind him, but he currently has hardly any references to show for 2027, at least not good ones without any points. "The support from the team is great, but of course I've already thought a lot about next year. I can't say yet what will happen next. Of course, I'm not in a good starting position, but I have to get through it now. We will try to do everything possible. In terms of sponsors, everything is also a bit shaky."

After justified doubts about his long private life ahead and the uncertain team situation regarding 2027, this is the third reason why the continuation of his career is currently in jeopardy.