What you'll see in the video below is me messing up the entry to the corner, miss the apex and then apply too much throttle on the exit... with disastrous results.
I'm grateful, at least, that I had a camera on the bike because the resulting blow I took to the head led to amnesia and me losing the couple of days leading up to accident. Even now, years later, I cannot remember a thing about it. My first memories of the incident are leaving hospital.
The "highside" accident I suffered occurs when the rear wheel loses traction, sliding away, before suddenly regaining grip, with tends to end with the bike bolting into an upright position. The resultant whiplash often has the effect of launching the rider over the bars (as you can see from the montage of video stills below). It's a very common racing accident type.
A photographer happened to be on the very corner I crashed on and caught a couple of shots of me bouncing along the track.
Aside from the amnesia I did some damage to my shoulder and ankle, which took a couple of years to sort out. My ankle has never been the same and, after the time that's passed, I guess it never will be. My gear held up well and, under the circumstances, did a good job. My Arai helmet was obviously a write-off but it saved me from any lasting damage. Remarkably, my Alpinestars boots and gloves received nothing more than a few scuffs. My Dainese leathers took more of a hit (see below), but I was able to have them repaired and I still wear the same set to this day.
The R&G crash bungs fitted to my Suzuki GSXR-750 also did a great job and I was able to repair my bike for just a few hundred pounds. If I had any luck on that day, it was that my bike dug in and spun, rather than bouncing end-on-end and being destroyed, which is often what happens in this type of accident.
Finally, a big shout out to the medical staff. From reviewing the full video I could see that less than 60 seconds after crashing, and being unconscious on the track, there was an ambulance by my side. From there they whisked me off to hospital. Where else can you ride on the limit and have that kind of support standing by?
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