Bow biker could be out for two weeks after suffering injury

Biker Sam Cox was left to rue bad luck at the weekend after a crash ruled him out of the latest Triumph Triple Challenge meet at Oulton Park in Cheshire.

The former Raines School pupil travelled up to the circuit on Saturday, but delays on the track meant that the 21-year-old was only given 10 minutes for a practice session, instead of the usual 20.

“A series of delays meant that I only had 10 minutes, around five laps, to practice, so I knew I needed to go hard from the start,” said Cox.

“Having been at Oulton Park the weekend before, I was confident that I knew the track so I went out fast and pushed myself, but I felt in the zone.”

However, just minutes into Cox’s practice run disaster struck when the Bow biker lost control of his bike, crashing out onto the tarmac.

“I was going all out and I felt good,” said Cox, who works at the Mossbourne Academy.

“However, Piers Hutchins, another racer, was in my way going into a corner.

“I had to take evasive action and I lost control of the bike, which then went into the air.

“The bike then landed on my foot, breaking three metatarsals.

“When 150kg of motorbike is landing on you, you know about it.

“I tried to get up to walk after I came off the bike, but I was in agony and I knew then that my weekend was over.

“It was so disappointing as in the flying lap I did complete, I was fifth fastest out of everyone.”

Cox then spent the remainder of the day in the medical centre at the track where his injury was assessed.

“As well as the three broken bones, my little toe was dislocated so that had to be put back in, which was interesting,” he said.

“It was really gutting that it happened, but that is the nature of racing.

“Sometimes you can come off the bike at 100mph, roll away, get up and carry on like nothing has happened.

“Then you get times like this, when only doing 30mph you come off the bike and get injured.”

Cox excelled even his own expectations in the first Triumph Triple Challenge race of the season at Thruxton, finishing in fourth place, and was looking forward to at least having a chance of repeating the success, but it wasn’t to be.

“If Thruxton was a dream weekend, then Oulton Park was most definitely a nightmare,” he said.

“Just as I was starting to get a name for myself and build some vital confidence due to my recent results, this happens, but anything can happen in racing.”

Cox was due to visit the fracture clinic yesterday (Wednesday) but is confident that he won’t be out of action for too long.

“I have a temporary cast on at the moment, and the initial prognosis was that I would be out for two months,” he added.

“That would mean I would miss the next race at Snetterton at the end of this month, but there is a little break in racing after that until the end of July, so it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“I am hoping to come back stronger though, although I will have to make up some ground on the other racers.”