An MRI scan performed by a knee specialist directly after the incident confirmed either a total or partial rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament but the full degree of the tear will not be known for several days and until inflammation has subsided. Frossard is slightly encouraged by the fact that the ailment is not as painful as his injury in qualification for the 2012 Grand Prix of Bulgaria that also involved damage to the meniscus and eventually required a knee reconstruction.

I cannot say how disappointed I am,” said the former MX1 World Championship runner-up who was fully dialled-in for a return to action on his factory YZ450FM at Ernee for the eighth round of the series on June 8-9th. “I also cannot believe my bad luck. After setting myself a firm goal after my foot problem at the beginning of the season I now need to start over again. I can just hope for some positive news next week and after eight days from now when I will know what is happening in the knee.

“It is almost unbelievable but yet another reminder for us about how tough this sport can be both physically and mentally; we feel pretty bad for Steven right now,” said Racing Manager for Yamaha Motor Europe Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “We’ll wait for the full diagnosis before we can make an assessment about the consequences for the rest of the season.”

The 2011 MX1 World Championship runner-up had expected to be on the factory YZ450FM for round six of seventeen this weekend at Agueda but after a complication in which the bone in his foot has re-broken, ‘183’ now needs to recuperate and cease physical exercise for a short period.

Frossard initially believed his injury was improving after a pin was inserted to stabilise the break and then he sat out the trip to Bulgaria two weeks ago to focus on rehabilitation. X-rays showed the fracture around the pin was calcifying sufficiently but while following doctor’s advice to start cycling this week the bone was not as strong as first believed.

Joel Roelants will continue to front Yamaha’s efforts in the premier class of the FIM Motocross World Championship and the team are excited to get to Agueda with Christophe Charlier and Dean Ferris focussed on the MX2-GP podium.

The intense pace and demands of the Italian soil was too much for Frossard’s recently operated left foot. The pin in the metatarsal was causing unexpected nerve pain to the former Italian Champion’s extremity and medication could not get him sufficiently comfortable. Frossard attempted several laps in practice but realized he needs some more recovery time after surgery last week to get into race trim. He expects to be back in the paddock for the Grand Prix of Portugal in three weeks. Roelants suffered a crash during qualifying that left the former GP winner feeling dazed and nursing a sore shoulder, which rules him out for the race tomorrow.

All efforts now for Monster Energy Yamaha in the MX1-GP class will be to help the riders recuperate to the best possible state for further Grand Prix events in Bulgaria and Portugal in the coming three weeks. In the MX2 class all four Monster Energy Yamaha riders finished in the top eight of the qualification heat after some fantastic starts at Arco. Dean Ferris leads the quartet with third position and could be in contention for another podium finish tomorrow.

The 2011 MX1 vice-champion had a pin inserted in the foot to stabilise the break on Easter Monday in Belgium, the day of the Grand Prix of the Netherlands. Frossard has since been recuperating and felt comfortable enough to throw his leg over the works YZ450FM to ride on Wednesday with a special protective plate inserted in his boot. After some rigorous laps ‘183’ gave his team the thumbs-up.

“The operation went well and it wasn’t long before I started to feel good with my foot,” he said. “I was hopeful of going to Italy and was keen to try the bike with the special modification I have in my boot.”

“From the time around the track I knew I would be able to ride at the weekend. I cannot say what my goal will be but I want to get my season moving in the right direction.”

Ferris has been riding his YZ250F this week and will use proceedings at Arco di Trento to reignite his assault on the MX2-GP category after a sensation podium at Losail in Qatar for the championship opener.

Steven had this to say about his operation on Tuesday:
“I’m back home in Lyon now. I had surgery in Belgium, the doctors put a pin in my metatarsus and now I have to wait as my foot is still painful. Then we will prepare some specific protection to put in my boot, and I expect to race in Italy. Thanks for all your nice messages!”

Monster Energy Yamaha blasted through the desert night and lit the fuse on the FIM Motocross World Championship with the very first Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail. Under lights, in the Middle East and working through the maiden ‘Superfinal’ of GP racing Steven Frossard emerged from a novel opener to score ninth position overall on his factory YZ450FM while new team-mate Joel Roelants was fourteenth.

The soft and rutted Losail terrain (the result of imported soil and over two months of work) offered a variety of tests to the riders in terms of speed and technicality, and the added reduction of light thanks to the night schedule also complicated the mix as some holes and bumps were harder to judge. The racing layout and surface was positively received and the pleasant temperatures and paddock camaraderie made for a memorable opening event.

Frossard had some bad luck with his starts that left him scrapping to recover ground from the depths of the pack. A first race crash also limited his possibilities and he could only snare nine points for twelfth place. In the second outing – the Superfinal – the Frenchman had to find a way through some of the MX2 machines sharing the same track and this time improved his standing by four slots to eighth.

Roelants is still in a period of acclimatising to the demands of MX1 racing and placing a 450cc machine at the sharp-edge of competition. The Belgian rookie took fifteenth and twelfth in two valuable learning experiences. Round two quickly follows with Pattaya entertaining the first ever Grand Prix of Thailand next weekend.

Steven Frossard
“In the first moto I had a bad start and it was difficult to come back. I crashed and that made it worse. I was far behind and had a goggle problem. Overall it was pretty bad! The second time I had a poor place on the gate and again tried to recover.”

To finish eighth is not a good result but my riding wasn’t too far away. The season is very long and I know that race by race I will get better.”

Joël Roelants
“For a debut that was not like I hoped it would be. I think I could have been top ten in the first heat if I hadn’t have crashed. I took bad starts and I have to work on that because it was hard to pass on a track like this. We have quite a lot of fast riders in MX1 so a good start is so important. I wanted two top tens today but it wasn’t to be so I’ll continue working hard. It was a GP that was quite different but it was OK. I didn’t actually expect it to be as hot as it was. Wow, it was tough and I was tired in the end. I think I have to ride more economically and get used to using less energy on the 450.”

MX1 Results -
MX1 Moto1 result

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 40.02.285
2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +08.309
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +09.774
4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +11.672
5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +13.348
6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +19.233
7. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +45.330
8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), +48.315
9. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +49.098
10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), +56.834
12. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +1.03.908
15. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +1.20.459

Superfinal result

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39.55.020
2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +07.472
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +09.834
4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +11.515
5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +11.809
6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +16.592
7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +25.914
8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +39.408
9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +44.527
14. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +17.751

MX1 World Championship standings

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 47 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 45 p
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 38 p
4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 36 p
5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 34 p
6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 30 p
7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 30 p
8. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 23 p
9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 22 p
10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), 20 p
15. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), 15 p

A jam packed gallery of great action images from Monster Energy Yamaha team riders Steven Frossard, Christophe Charlier and Joel Roelants.

The first GP of the year is only days away, Steven Frossard, Christophe Charlier and Joel Roelants are all heading East in preparation for this weekends first ever GP night race.

Here’s the first look on MOTO of how the riders will be looking when the gate drops on Saturday night.

After going through a tough 2012 motocross campaign with his knee injury, Steven Frossard is keeping everyone informed about his recovery in his brand new video powered by Slumdog Production.

For most of 2012 Steven Frossard was out due to injury, he’s now back and looking to make amends for his missed season and already looks super fit as he tests VO2 MAX ((also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake, peak oxygen uptake or maximal aerobic capacity) on the treadmill.