RACE REPORT rounds 3 /4 .NG Road Racing champio
High Side at Brands
Brands Hatch Race CRASH Report
Firstly I would like to apologise for the lateness of this report, but I have a good excuse.
Brands Hatch on 11th April 2008 did not go well.
I intended to practice on Friday afternoon but could only book in for a full day, so I got up early looking forward to a full day of riding and destroying the rest of my tyres that I fitted at the start of the season. I was then going to fit new rubber for the race weekend.
I arrived at Brands a bit earlier than expected and after signing on realised that if I hurried I could make the second session. The track looked almost dry so I got organised and kitted up and made it to the start of the second session. The only thing I forgot to do was get my head in gear.
I did a few laps and was a bit all over the place, not on the right line and not in the right gear anywhere really but my onboard lap timer came up with a time of 1 minute and .3 of a second, just about ˝ a second off my pace from last year. I then got my head down determined to beat last year’s time – Big mistake.
The lap did not go too well and I exited clearways the big curve just before the start finish straight on a really tight line I got on the gas hard in 5th. The rear tyre span and I moved off the seat and forward keeping it pinned so that the bike could sort itself out beneath me. I really though I had saved it until my head went through the screen and I was flying somewhere above my bike. I hit the deck hard with my Head and Shoulders (Why I was carrying shampoo with me I have no idea). I slid to the kitty litter and flipped over and stayed perfectly still. I knew I had hurt myself and went through the mental checklist. Conscious, good, right arm moving, left leg ok right leg ok, I then reached down to where I thought my left arm lay and it was not where I thought it was. It turns out I have damaged the nerves in my shoulder and have lost part of the movement in my left arm. The many doctors over the past few weeks are hopeful that movement will return but it is frustrating at the moment.
The trackside medical crew were fantastic and so were the doctors at A&E, they strapped me to a bed in a neck collar and took lots of x-rays before letting me move to make sure I had not done any back or neck damage – thankfully there was nothing amiss.
This silly mistake has cost me championship position and I missed the two rounds and Brands and am out for Snetterton and possibly Cadwell in a few weeks.
Wayne, Mike and the team have done a fantastic job getting the bike back together, we had a few problems with parts but they made sure that the bike is ready for Snetterton. I am gutted that I am letting them down by not being fit enough to ride.
Sorry guys.
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