TUCSON, Ariz. (June 19) -- The Panera Bread/KWR Ducati Superbike team has withdrawn from next week's MotoAmerica Superbike event at The Ridge Motorsports Park. After the crash and subsequent injury of rider and team owner Kyle Wyman, the team will forgo participation in round four of the championship to focus on the following race event at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Shortly after winning the King of the Baggers race on his Harley-Davidson Road Glide, Wyman crashed his Ducati Superbike in race two on Sunday, June 13 at Road America. The slow low-side crash saw Wyman catch his left elbow on a sharp curbing edge on his way down, resulting in multiple fractures of the Olecranon bone, a significant structural component of the elbow joint.
At the hands of Dr. Maury K. Harwood, Wyman had a surgical procedure to conduct a fixation of the bone with a plate and 7 titanium screws. Wyman's complete prognosis is still unclear but he will not be able to ride at "The Ridge" in Washington state for the event scheduled for June 25-27, 2021. KWR will not field a replacement rider in MotoAmerica Superbike at The Ridge and will focus on the Laguna Seca round of the series.
"Obviously this is a big setback for our season, specifically for the Superbike program," Wyman said. "The crash was so slow and simple I just got really unlucky the way I fell and caught the concrete edge, and knew immediately that something was broken. Fortunately I have some of the best doctors around me and they have bolted me back together to get me healthy as safely and as quickly as possible."
The KWR Team is committed to fielding the Superbike program at Laguna Seca and the balance of the season. This event, taking place July 9-11, 2021, is also the third and final round of the King of the Baggers Championship, in which Wyman is the points leader with the Factory Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle team.
"The priority this week was to arrange my surgery and recovery to give myself the best opportunity to come back soon, and strong," Wyman added. "With these challenges, we decided as a team not to force the issue and put together a Superbike entry at The Ridge with another rider. If I am not fit in three weeks time, we will revisit that scenario for Laguna Seca."
"At minimum, I want to be healthy enough to finish the job there in the Baggers Championship. The best case scenario is that I will feel strong enough to race both bikes and compete in both classes again. Right now it is too early to tell."
