Cameron Petersen has announced that he will miss the 2024 MotoAmerica Daytona 200 March 9 at Daytona International Speedway.
“Unfortunately I will be sitting out of this years Daytona200!!!” Petersen posted to his Instagram on Friday. “Still trying to get back to full fitness with the wrist, absolutely gutted I won’t be lining up with the boys but I will be back in 2025. For now we focus on the big bike!!!”
In 2023 Daytona 200, a non-points-paying MotoAmerica Supersport race, Petersen finished third, just 0.140 second behind race winner Josh Herrin, on his Attack Performance Yamaha YZF-R6.
Later during the 2023 MotoAmerica Superbike season, Petersen was forced to withdraw from action to have surgery on his right wrist.
“The wrist was so bad before I had less than 50% of strength than I did in my left hand. I’m right-hand dominant, so it was pretty bad,” Petersen told Roadracingworld.com in August 2023, after he had the surgery. “We were having to inject a local anesthetic before each session [on track], and I was struggling to pick up a glass of water.
“They took a whole row of bones out of my wrist. I think the procedure is called a Proximal Row Carpectomy. It’s three bones [the scaphoid bone and the bone on either side of it] that they take out. She [surgeon Dr. Rosemary Yi] said it was pretty rare for someone my age to get it done, but I know Nicky Hayden had it done and John Hopkins had it done to kind of restart their careers. I have full confidence in the procedure, and I think it’s going to be really good.”
At that time, Petersen said he expected to return to normal activity in December 2023, and he did resume riding motocross and flat track. Then in January, he tested his Yamaha Superbike at The Podium Club at Attesa, in Arizona, but apparently Petersen feels he needs more recovery time before the start of the 2024 MotoAmerica Superbike season at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in April.
