James Ellison’s run of bad luck in 2015 continued this weekend, with the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider breaking his wrist in an incident at Thruxton.
Ellison was battling towards the front of the pack in race one when he was unfortunate enough to be right behind Richard Cooper when his engine blew, causing oil to spill all over the track.
The slippery surface caused Ellison to lose control as crash at high speeds, with his machine disappearing over the safety barriers at the edge of the circuit.
Ellison, who had led the championship earlier on in the year, was found to have broken his wrist and was unable to compete in race two of the day.
A dejected Ellison commentated: “The race itself was going well, we were running in the front group and I could see some of the guys in front were beginning to lose grip, whereas I was feeling particularly good still. Going through Church on lap six I was sitting behind Cooper when his engine went, throwing oil all over my bike and visor – to the point where I couldn’t see. I moved off line and was about to lift my visor so I could see but the bike came round on me as the tyres were covered in oil and I high-sided.
“It was possibly the fastest crash I’ve ever had, and the result is a broken left wrist. It’s gutting and we seem to never have any luck, just like Snetterton it was a crash through no fault of our own which has given us a big setback.”
Ellison confirmed that it was a clean break and the year-old was due to see a specialist today in order to see whether he will need a plate or not.
This is the second injury that the Cumbrian has suffered this season, after suffering two broken ribs in a mixed-weather qualifying session at Snetterton. Before that incident he was leading the championship after taking three wins from the opening six races of the year.
Despite suffering from four non-finishes since that crash, and missing the second race yesterday, Ellison still finds himself third in the championship – albeit 119 points behind leader Josh Brookes.
A Showdown finish is still the target for Ellison as he explained: “It’s going to be a race against time to get back for Cadwell, but I’ve done it before and we’re still third in the championship so I’m pretty confident that whether it’s Cadwell or Oulton we’ll still make the Showdown. I’m just gutted for the whole team, they work so hard and didn’t deserve this either -but a massive congratulations to Westy, that was a brilliant ride and I’m chuffed to see him take his first podium.”
Ellison does have time on his side with Cadwell Park still three weeks away, taking place over the bank holiday weekend of August 21-23.
