Mike Bushell‘s recovery from severe ligament damage has been given a boost following confirmation of an all clear from doctors to return to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park next month.
The AmD Tuning racer sustained the leg injury in a heavy accident with Simon Belcher‘s Toyota Avensis during qualifying at the previous meeting at Thruxton, the reigning Renault UK Clio Cup champion speaking to TCF only a day after of his desire to be back for the visit to the Cheshire circuit on 6/7 June.
Doctors have now given Bushell medical clearance to return to the wheel of the Ford Focus in time for the fourth meeting of the season, the man himself relieved of his speedy recovery.
“The injury itself is healing very quickly and physically I’m doing fine now, but to be honest I’ve been in limbo over my heart problem that I suffered in February”, Bushell said to btcc.net.
“I was desperate to be in the BTCC this year so I didn’t want to make a big deal of my heart condition. I had an inflammation of the heart muscle, which put me in a cardiac ward for a week during pre-season. I did get better but it actually took a lot longer than I thought to reach full fitness.
“Obviously because of the nature of the accident at Thruxton and the doctors not knowing originally if I had broken my leg or if I would need surgery, it meant we had to disclose the information to the hospital. Of course this accident alarmed the doctors a little and I’ve been frantically waiting to be given the all clear and my license approved for racing, which thankfully has now happened.”
Another boost came from the overwhelming support from BTCC fans to get Bushell back out of track, the BTCC rookie raising well over his £10,000 target via crowdfunding in less than 24 hours.
The crowdfunding scheme involved offers to drive a former Renault UK Clio Cup machine, plus passenger laps held at Brands Hatch and Rockingham, Bushell himself thankful for such support.
He added: “I’m always focused on the driving and maybe I’m not as forward as some of the other drivers. I must admit that I have been shocked at the following since joining the BTCC and particularly since the accident.
“The response has been unbelievable as I really didn’t realise the size of the following that both the series has and I seem to have so early in my BTCC career. I wouldn’t be back on the grid without their support – I just want to thank everyone for their help and I hope to give something back over the coming weeks.”
