Jordi Tixier reports from hospital: “No warning flags were shown”

For Jordi Tixier, the Supercross in Stuttgart was over before it had really begun. During the very first free practice session on Friday, the former MX2 World Champion took a heavy fall at the final jump in the Hans-Martin-Schleyer-Halle and fractured his shoulder blade. Instead of battling for points and placings, the Frenchman had to be taken to hospital. SPEEDWEEK.com reported.

A week after the serious incident, the Yamaha rider spoke out in detail for the first time. His account raises questions about track safety: according to his own account, a bale of straw was lying right in the middle of the landing area of the final jump – without track marshals warning the riders of the danger with yellow flags.

Recollections of the Nagl crash in Tensfeld

The allegations are reminiscent of another serious incident this season. At the ADAC MX Masters in Tensfeld, Max Nagl suffered a serious crash after colliding with a rider who was already lying on the ground. The Triumph rider also stated afterwards that he had not noticed any yellow warning flags. The consequences of the crash ultimately led to the end of his active career.

Of course, there are differing perspectives in such incidents. What a rider perceives in a fraction of a second does not necessarily correspond to the observations of the track marshals. Whether and when warning flags were actually displayed in Stuttgart has not yet been clarified. Nevertheless, the allegations touch on a particularly sensitive issue in motor sport. In Supercross in particular, where jumps and landing zones are often out of sight, flag marshals bear a special responsibility. Their warning signals can determine whether a dangerous situation turns into a serious accident or not. The repeated criticism from experienced top riders should therefore prompt a careful review of the relevant procedures.

Jordi Tixier describes the crash

“I’ve taken a step back from social media over the last few days,” explained the Frenchman. “Unfortunately, there was a serious crash right at the start of the first practice session at the Supercross in Stuttgart. A bale of straw was lying right in the middle of the landing area for the final jump, and no warning flag was waved.’ Tixier went on to say: ‘I couldn’t avoid the obstacle. The result was a violent crash in which I fractured my shoulder blade.” It’s particularly bitter: the former world champion had set his sights high in sporting terms. “We were really on a roll and I had an excellent feel on the GSM Yamaha.”

Despite the painful injury, the Frenchman is looking ahead: “But that’s sport for you, as they say. Now I’ve got a few weeks of recovery ahead of me, then we’ll be back!” For Tixier, the accident means a forced break lasting several weeks.