EC250 cracked cylinder head

[Mostin3]

Hello, i'm new to the forum and a new GasGas owner.

I bought a 2014 EC250 a few months ago and have been out on it a few times without issue and love the bike. i went out last weekend and after washing the bike on arriving home, i noticed coolant weeping from the T piece that bolts to the cylinder head. I removed the T piece, saw the gasket was breached, fitted a new gasket and thought nothing else of it.

On Saturday, I went to an enduro practice track. bike was running fine, until about lap 8 when all of a sudden, i powered out of a corner and the bike stopped, followed by a cloud of steam coming from the motor. I looked down and noticed a large crack in the cylinder head, running across the top of it.

When i got home, i removed the top end to inspect the damage, fearing the worst. Evrything appears perfect, piston in fine, ring end gap fine, small end bearing fine, big end bearing fine, water pump impeller fine, PV fine, radiators are not blocked and are clean, as are engine coolant ways.

Mt gut feeling is that the head casting is sub par and the coolant jackets have fatigued, either by poor casting or using neat water in coolant system and coolant has leaked into the combustion chamber, turned to steam and blown the head off.

I've ordered all new parts, as well as a piston, rings and the associated bearings and seals and will fit them next weekend. I am interested to hear other peoples thoughts on this and/or whether its a common issue?

Thanks in advance