TT star James Hillier suffers broken bones on short circuit return
Wednesday 27 June 2012
TT
After a strong run at the 2012 Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy, James Hillier has suffered a broken heel and fractured hand in a crash on his return to short circuits.
Hillier, who secured second place in the BikerPetition.co.uk Lightweight TT, highsided on the first lap of the first British Superbike Champuionship race at Knockhill on Sunday.
The nasty looking crash at the final hairpin saw Hillier taken to the medical centre, later emerging on crutches with his left foot and arm heavily bandaged.
It was further blow for the Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki Racing team after Hillier’s team mate Chris Walker broke both heels in practice. He bravely raced on, only to be denied finishes by mechanical problems.
Team Owner Pete Extance said:
“Anything that could have gone wrong this weekend has gone wrong and we've ended with five DNFs, three broken heels and a broken hand so to say it's been disappointing would be an understatement.”
“The team worked so hard and it's just been one of those unfortunate meetings where nothing's gone right. We had high hopes of Chris moving into the top six of the championship this weekend and although he crashed, he gritted his teeth and was truly heroic in going out to race. The fact that he was thwarted by mechanical problems rather than being held back by his injuries makes it even more disappointing and frustrating for him.”
“To then have James suffer an identical injury shows how unlucky we've been this weekend. He was on such a high after some great results at the TT, but he's come here and had three crashes, eventually leaving on crutches. We're just all disappointed right now but a big thanks to the team for all their efforts and also to the medical staff for looking after Chris and James so well.”
“We'll take stock of everything over the next couple of weeks and, hopefully, both riders will be strong enough to race at the next round.”