Battling back from brain surgery, the indestructible Austin Forkner seeks dirt bike glory

Motorcycle racing is dangerous, of that there is no doubt. But within the sport there is one category that sits (bruised) head and (fractured) shoulders above the others.

Motorcycle racing is dangerous, of that there is no doubt. But within the sport there is one category that sits (bruised) head and (fractured) shoulders above the others. Supercross is a spectacular form of dirt-bike racing played out in stadiums, with wild jumps, eye-widening speeds and battling competition. Few riders embody the sport and its elements more than Austin Forkner, the most successful rider in the 250SX class never to win a title. The Missouri native has come close, but painful on-track mishaps have always gotten in the way. With its speed, acrobatics and general entertainment factor, Forkner tells CNN Sports that no sport has the blend of ingredients that Supercross offers: “It’s got the technicality of golf, we’re playing with inches out there. “It’s got the brutalness or gnarliness of fighting, like UFC fighting … then it’s got the physicality of, like, a triathlete. You have to be in such good shape, you have to be ready to be injured and ready to go to war, basically.” Talking to CNN at Triumph Racing America’s headquarters in picturesque countryside south of Atlanta, Georgia, the 26-year-old begins to list the injuries he has sustained in the saddle, gesturing to different parts of his body.