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Despite major setback Forkner blazes to career-defining season on Supercross circuit
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was in sight for Austin Forkner.
The 20-year-old Richards native, fresh off his third full-season on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship pro circuit, had a dominant showing in the 250SX East Region, racking up five victories through the first six races.
Forkner was in the drivers seat in the points standings until a knee injury cut his season short.
At the time of the injury Forkner had a 26-point cushion on the next closest competitor. The major ACL injury was sustained during a warmup lap April 6 in Nashville. Forkner lost control and was flung head-over-shoulders off his bike. The injury occurred when Forkner planted his left leg hard into the ground.
"I felt it pop," Forkner recounted in a recent interview with the Daily Mail. "I tried to ride again, but I really couldn't. Before that, I hadn't crashed in a (main event) race all year. I crashed a few times in practice, and that one just ended up getting me."
Forkner indicated that he further aggravated the injury after attempting to give it a go in the final session, resulting in a fully-torn meniscus.
"After that, I was pretty much done for the night," Forkner noted.
Forkner's points lead evaporated that night, with Chase Sexton's runner-up finish slicing the margin from 26 to three.
Forkner attempted a comeback the following race, two weeks later, but the injury was too severe, and his golden season was derailed. The clear championship circuit frontrunner, Forkner was forced to settle for a third-place finish in the final East Region standings.
"It's unheard of to win five races and not get the championship," lamented Forkner. "It was really hard dealing with (the reality of it). There wasn't anything that anybody could say to make me feel better."
In his brief comeback attempt Forkner said he went against the advice of his trainers and medical personnel.
"I tried, but it just didn't work out," Forkner said of his comeback attempt in the penultimate race of the season, April 27 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Despite the season-ending injury, Forkner fondly reflected on his electrifying run.
"This season is what I've been expecting of myself since I turned pro," he said. "It may have surprised some people, but these are the results I've expected — to be consistently winning and on the podium, and that's what I did this year, and I'm happy with that."
Forkner said the keys to success for him this season were gaining confidence after winning his first couple of races, and a switch to a new trainer.
"My new (fitness coach) was a lot tougher on me," Forkner said. "And I was in the best shape I've ever been in."
Added Forkner: "I think it was a combination of things — my maturity level, and my starts were on-point. I was just dialed-in this season."
Forkner, who sports No. 24, said some tweaks to the settings on his Kawasaki 250 also made a major difference.
"It was faster, and it handled better this year," he said.
Forkner said he had a couple personal favorite moments this season.
"One of them was my victory at Daytona, because it's just like a sick race, it's awesome," Forkner explained. "It's a tradition that if you win, you pull up by the fans and burn out, and like roast your tire, basically. And I finally got to do it. The fans were going crazy, it was pretty sick."
The following week at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Forkner overcame a heat-race crash, as well as several other obstacles en route to a triumphant victory.
"I was a little bit banged up, and basically gave everybody a chance to beat me going into the main event," he said. "But I still won by like 10 seconds. That was a big moment for me, because it was one of the races where I had everything going against me."
Forkner said he expects to be at full-strength by the start of the next Supercross season, slated for January 2020, and doesn't anticipate changing much up from the recently completed season.
"Basically do the same thing I did this year, just don't get hurt," Forkner said. "Honestly, I don't want to change anything. This year, I was pretty much perfect. Come race time, there were very few guys who could run with me. So not a lot I need to change, maybe just tone it down a little in practice."