Reigning United States 450cc motocross champion Ryan Dungey is taking things one day at a time as he recovers from his broken neck and watches as his title defence crumbles with every passing race.

Fresh off a dominating championship run in the 2016 AMA Supercross series, Dungey only trailed German rival Ken Roczen by a handful of points heading into round three of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship at Thunder Valley, in Denver, Colorado.

Just after the gate dropped in race two, disaster struck for Dungey as an uncharacteristic mistake caused him to hit the deck, landing on his head and neck.

Though he remounted to charge from 19th to 4th in the race, a post-race doctors visit would reveal a broken C6 vertebrae in Dungey’s neck.

“The crash at Thunder Valley was just a rare mistake. I came into a rut just a little bit too fast, stood up the bike and then as I was going off the next jump, it sent me into kind of a pitch.

“I knew I wasn’t going to go over the bars, it just tucked the front and that’s when I rolled into the bank and ended up rolling on my head and neck area. It was definitely sore, I was able to get up and finish the race, which was surprising. Then later during the week we got it checked out to make sure everything was good and that’s when we saw that there was a fracture in the C6 vertebrae.

“I’ll use this time to rejuvenate and come back for one good push in the sport in all areas, on the track, off the track, for my team and for the acceleration of KTM.”

At first, he didn’t realise how seriously he’d been hurt.

“When I got back up and finished the race, I definitely felt that something was different. When I would turn to the left I felt what was not so much a sharp pain but more of a numbness, like it didn’t want to turn that way, as well as in the g-out’s of ruts I could feel something was a little bit off. I thought it was just sore, I thought I just riled myself up and hit my neck pretty good, I didn’t really think it was to the extent of being broken or anything like that.

“Initially, when the doctor told me that the vertebrae was broken, it was definitely hard to take it in, you know three rounds in [to the Pro Motocross series], 12 points out of the championship lead and there’s a lot of racing left. The first thought was ‘okay, what am I going to do to get back and get ready for round four?’ I got a weekend off and that was the hard part.

“The eye-opening experience was more when we went to the next doctor and told me ‘if you would have hit it any harder you could have done more damage’, and that’s kind of scary news when it’s your spinal cord and you don’t want to mess with that.

“That’s the other thing, I probably could numb it up and go out there and try to make the best of it and race if it were a different bone or a different scenario, but something like this, the spinal, the C-6, I don’t feel like it’s worth going out there and doing any more damage to make it worse than it is.

“Thankfully, I’ve been very fortunate in this sport and we’ve been able to accomplish a lot of good things up to this point so that’s nice. At the same time I’ll use this time to regroup and refresh.

“Within the sport I’ve been very fortunate, I’ve been able to be healthy and injury free. This sport can be tough at times and it has been within my career, but nothing long term. This one being the longest, we’re going to miss nine races. I think the most I missed before that was four or five.

“It’s definitely tough to miss the rest of the season, but 10 years in I definitely feel like the 10 years leading up to this point have been great, I’ve been able to accomplish a lot within the sport, winning races and championships and I’ve worked with a lot of great people. You know, as a kid I dreamed of doing things like this and to be able to accomplish it I think it helps for sure, but for me there’s more I’d like to accomplish yet, so that’s the bummer part.

“I definitely want to get back to it and go out there and do my job and that’s to win races and championships. The other thing, too, is you miss hanging with your team, the people, the fans — you miss that whole experience. Having to sit out of races and watch on TV from home when you know you should be there, that’s the hardest part.

“There’s been very rare and limited times in my career that I’ve actually had a break or a lot of time off, time to rejuvenate, recharge, think about things, different decisions and stuff like that. You know I’m in the later part of my career but yet I still feel like I’m in the prime of it.

“I still feel like I’m strong enough to go out there and compete and battle for the top spot which is important. But this could be a good time to reflect and in a positive way, I can’t look at this as a negative. I’ve got to be positive about everything and look at it as ‘what are we going to do from here, how can we benefit from this,’ and just use this down time to do the things I haven’t got to do, spend time with family, my wife and thinking about things in my career where I could be better. It’s a good opportunity to reflect on everything and that way when I do come back there’s not a second thought or a doubt or anything. You’re there, healthy, hungry, focused and 100 percent ready to go.

“Being at home having to sit on the sidelines is tough. Especially when you know you should be out there, that’s the hardest part. Obviously I need to make sure I enjoy this time as well and use the time wisely, it doesn’t do any good to beat myself up, but when you know “that’s what I do and that’s where I should be” and I’m not because of what happened, it’s hard.

“I think of my team and the effort they put in, and my team-mates Marvin (Musquin), and really Jason Anderson as well. We ride together during the week and I’m not there pushing them or being pushed by them either, so it’s kind of hard. But I know within time we’ll be back and be right there competing.

“It’s definitely not easy to sit back, especially when you’re a competitor and you enjoy racing. I love what I do and I get to race for a living and, unfortunately, right now I can’t be there so it’s tough.

“Rehab for me is just mainly resting. I can start doing a little bit of cardio to keep the blood flowing, which is nice. At the moment for me it’s just no impact, no quick movements. The good thing is the fracture wasn’t displaced, it was still intact, so it’s not painful by any means — it’s kind of surprising that I have a broken neck when you say it like that. If I’m uncomfortable I can wear the neck brace and if I’m feeling fine I don’t have to wear it which is good.

“It’s definitely tough when you have to wear a brace and it really limits your mobility. Low-impact cardio and trying to stay active, it’s tough, trying to find things to do. It’s a little mellow but it’s good as well.

“The pain is not big by any means, I really don’t feel any pain. If anything, it’s more discomfort. Certain things, you know, when I turn my head to the left or when you’re laying on the pillow at night and you want to let your head go all the way to the left and you can’t. That’s the hard part, you know, limiting your mobility in those areas and the comfort part. So no pain, just more discomfort if anything.

“The plan is to just get rested and healed up. I’ve got doctors visits every two weeks to make sure everything is in check and healing properly which is very important. Then from there we’ll find a timeline to start riding again. For me it’s just day by day taking it in, obviously when I get healed up we’ll start back to riding again. We’ll probably sit out the rest of the outdoor season, start riding around the end of August at the earliest and probably get ready for Supercross. We’ll do a few of the off-season races like Monster Cup and Red Bull Straight Rhythm and then Supercross will roll back around in January. The main priority is to get healed up, start riding again and the main goal is January at Anaheim 1.

What are you going to be doing with your time during your unexpected vacation from racing?

“To be able to sit back and see the sport from the outside in, in a way, it really brings a lot of clarity — brings a lot of perspective and so forth.

“Sitting here now thinking about everything and being able to enjoy other parts of my life that I haven’t been able to in a while is good, but it also could be good to recharge and come back for one good, last run within the sport.

“I don’t know the future or how many years of racing I’ve got left right now, but I’m still committed for next year and for me that’s important to live up to my word and I want to make the best of it. I’ve also been given a gift in talent and I want to use it to the fullest. Long story short, I’ll use this time to rejuvenate and come back for one good push in the sport in all areas, on the track, off the track, for my team and for the acceleration of KTM.

“Right now, I want to take it one year at a time; it’s hard to look any further past that, but right now that’s where my mind’s at.”

Story courtesy Anthony Sansotta, Red Bull

© Photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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