Phil Nicoletti will return from injury to 450 class at High Point

Phil Nicoletti will return from a wrist injury suffered in Monster Energy Supercross 250 West competition in Oakland, California for Round 4 of the Pro Motocross season, Round 21 of SuperMotocross at High Point Raceway in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania this week.

According to a release from the Muc-Off / ClubMX team, Nicoletti’s return is three weeks ahead of schedule. Nicoletti’s early return comes after spending several weeks testing on the 450 bike.

Despite riding in the 250 class for Supercross, Nicoletti will enter the 450 division to take advantage of a field that has been thinned by injuries to several factory riders.

“I am not ready to give up racing yet,” Nicoletti said in the release. “I still love the grind, I still want to compete, racing is in my blood and I am ready to return. The healing process takes a bit longer as I get older, but I have been working hard to get my body back in shape and ready to go. I have been training with the kids here at Club and although they are not allowed to track my lap times, I feel like I am ready to go.”

Nicoletti swept the top 10 in the first three rounds of Supercross with a pair of eighth-place finishes (Anaheim 1 and San Diego) as his best results.

After missing the end of the 250 Supercross season and the first three rounds of Motocross, Nicoletti is 42nd in the combined SuperMotocross 250 standings with 57 points needed to climb into the top 20 and have a guaranteed spot in the inaugural SMX World Championship, so the transition to 450s will not put him at a huge disadvantage.

Nicoletti follows teammate Garrett Marchbanks into the class after that rider also switched from 250s last week in Thunder Valley. Marchbanks earned 28 points with results of sixth in Moto 1 and