Image: GPAgency.

A crash in FP1 at Assen saw World Supersport Championship (WorldSSP) racer Oli Bayliss fracture his left hallux, and while he attempted to race on Saturday the D34G Racing rider was ultimately declared unfit ahead of race two.

The Australian entered the third round hopeful of a good result and looking to build from Phillip Island and Mandalika, before sustaining the injury in the fall at turn 18.

Bayliss still took part in FP2 and then qualifying, but it soon became clear that the injury was making it impossible for him to shift gears, and after retiring from race one, he was declared unfit for Sunday’s second encounter.

“It was definitely not the weekend I wanted,” Bayliss recalled. I had trained really hard to be ready for this round and unfortunately, it ended up earlier than we’d expected.

“After the crash in FP1 we tried our best to still be out riding but after a few laps I was struggling with changing gears. Had it been the other foot, I could have dealt with it. We tried to have a go with a numbing injection in race one, but it didn’t do much so after ten laps I pulled in for the safety of myself and the other riders.

“Then on Sunday, I was declared unfit to ride. These things happen and it’s incredible how such a little injury can have a huge impact on your riding. Time to do some recovery to be back strong in Barcelona!”

Bayliss’ best result in the 2023 season so far came in race one at Mandalika, with the next round of the 2023 World Supersport Championship (WorldSSP) taking place at Catalunya, Spain between 5-7 May.