Tortelli Rides Washougal Practice After Concussion

Kit Palmer | July 28, 2001

After smacking his head and suffering a “minor” concussion the week before at Troy, Ohio, Team Honda’s Sebastien Tortelli was back in action at Washougal for Saturday’s Pro practice. Tortelli, who suffered that hard get-off at Troy, looked up to speed today at Washougal.

According to Honda team manager Cliff White, Tortelli feels as good as can be expected, though he still feels as though “he fought a couple of heavyweight boxing rounds,” White said. “His eyes are a little black and blue but he feels all right.”

Not feeling quite all right, however, is Tortelli’s teammate Ryan Hughes who won’t be participating in tomorrow’s National. The CRF450 rider joined the concussion bandwagon after crashing at Glen Helen while practicing during the week.

“We thought it was best for him not to ride this weekend,” White said. “He got off pretty hard.”

Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor

Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.