All in all it’s been pretty hectic here. Michael did not want to comment to the public until we knew for sure just what was wrong with him.

But here is the story so far.

Genoa Italy - 1st heat main event, Burner was running in 3rd along side Lusk & Ferry when his front wheel takes a dive into a whoop section and the back end tips up and throws Mike against the handle bars.  He stables the bike and resumes racing and qualifies for the final in 5th spot.

Michael gets off bike in the pits and mildly mentions that it’s hard to breathe and that he has severe pain in the chest area.  So into the ambulance Mike and his manager go to the hospital.  After a close examination it is revealed that Mike has a broken rib and a puncture to the lung.  Burner was then transported to another hospital for a surgical procedure to drain the fluid and blood that was now seeping into the collapsed lung.  The procedure went fine and was a success. His stay in the hospital in Italy will be a week or so and then he will stay on the ground for a while in Genoa until doctors give him the OK to fly home. (A week or so).

He is accompanied by his mechanic Darrin Sorensen who has done an excellent job keeping his spirits up as Mike takes a set back like this very hard. After doing so well in Sheffield the week prior (he won) he was looking to do well again last week end in Italy and Barcelona Spain the following night.

Alas, this current injury will leave the Burner sidelined for Bercy France and his main concentration will be to get better ASAP and resume training for the start of the AMA Supercross series.

Therese & Michael