The South African had settled down quickly at the hardpack track 20 kilometres west of Halle to set seventh best time in free practice and was looking to build on that success during the Pre-Qualifying session when he suddenly felt intense pain in his back. After seeking medical advice the rider and team decided to withdraw his participation from the GP to concentrate on a full recovery during the two-week period before the next round of the World Series.
 
Tyla Rattray: “ During the pre-qualifying session I was going for a lap, doing everything exactly the same as on the other laps, and when I was standing up I felt a lot of pain in my back. I went to the medical service, did some physio treatment but the pain is too intense and this morning I couldn’t even put my socks on by myself. I will visit the doctor on Monday, and we’ll see what he says. It’s a shame; I didn’t crash, I didn’t make any mistake, I just rode as the other laps. It’s bad luck, but that’s part of the sport and it could be a lot worse but I hope to have some good news on Monday and be back for Sweden.”
 
Team manager François Lemariey: “For sure it’s frustrating for the team to be here and have no rider on the track, but what can we do? We just hope that Tyla is not seriously injured and that he will be back soon on the track; this week everything was OK during the training sessions and we were expecting a good weekend.”