MANX enduro star David Knight was airlifted to hospital following a crash during the prologue of the Erzberg Rodeo in Austria on Friday.
Knighter went into the event as one of the pre-competition favourites and was first out on the course at 8am aboard his KTM EXC 300.
However, despite a clear track ahead of him, the Manxman crashed on one of the slower sections and was unable to complete his qualifying run on the mountain.
He was taken back to the paddock via an ambulance and subsequently airlifted to hospital suffering from elbow and rib injuries.
Fortunately, Knighter escaped relatively unscathed considering he was only wearing a race shirt and was described as being in good spirits.
KTM Enduro factory team coordinator Alex Doringer commented after the crash: ‘David has been taken to hospital, but wasn’t in too much pain when he left. Thankfully, the section of the track where he crashed wasn’t too fast, but it’s clear that David obviously hit the ground with some force. His right side took the impact, and it’s his elbow and ribs that are being checked out.’
Speaking on Twitter over the weekend, Knighter said: ‘Thanks everyone and thanks to medical guys here! Also thanks to KTM Racing, bike was awesome and flying up stage, I just made a silly mistake.
‘Could have been worse but they want to keep me in overnight to keep an eye on me, should be alright in couple of weeks I hope.’