Slaw Dog
Former Troy Lee Designs and HEP Suzuki rider Brandon Hartranft has announced his retirement from professional racing.
Last December, Hartranft suffered severe injuries while testing for the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross season with HEP Suzuki.
Hartranft’s bike cut out on the takeoff of a jump and he sustained multiple fractures in his spine and was knocked unconscious for “five to six” minutes.
“To be honest, I was knocked out for five or six minutes, so that’s no oxygen to the brain and everything,” he told Racer X in April. “I remember the bike locking up on the face of a jump and I remember the noise it made. But I don’t remember the pain, and I don’t remember absolutely anything after that. All I remember is being in the hospital and waking up, kinda yelling at the nurse, freaking out because I hurt so bad. I could move my legs and I had feeling right away. But at the time I wasn’t worried about that or anything. I was just sedated on some mad pain drugs.”
It’s been a grueling recovery process for the New Jersey native and this week he announced he has decided to retire from racing to focus on his new training program.
“Since many of you have been asking, I wanted to clear the air on my future and racing. I’m stepping away from racing professionally. The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my life battling through the injuries sustained prior to SX. The hardest part to take is that it was completely out of my control, but that is a part of this sport. Racing has been my entire life up until this point, so the transition isn’t going to be easy, but I’m proud of my accomplishments and the man motocross has made me. I still plan to stay active within the motocross industry and I’m excited to share my next adventure with @alphamxdynamics . I’m truly thankful for everyone who has supported me over the years. Bring on the next chapter!”
Main image: Suzuki
Thanks for the great rides ! Hope to see you at the track