The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Ben Wilson has returned to the Vauxhall International North West 200 circuit where he was injured during the 2016 event.
The Kirton racer discussed possible safety improvements with event director, Mervyn Whyte MBE, to the north coast circuit along with Ryan Farquhar and Nico Mawhinney who also crashed and were seriously injured during their races.
Wilson badly broke his femur in an accident during practice at the Northern Ireland circuit in May.
He has since been treated by a pioneering surgeon at the Addenbrokes Hospital who opened up the wound and attached some metal work to each end of the bone so that he can turn the screw four times a day to stretch the bone.
Wilson needs to stretch the upper part of the femur by about 16cm so that it will meet the other end of the bone to enable it to fuse together.
Despite the intensive and painful treatment, surgeons are confident the bones will knit together.
Wilson explained: “The surgeons have sorted my leg out now and I hope to get back on the bike as soon as I can.
“This is the first time I’ve been back to where I crashed – the only thing is this time my leg is not hanging off.”
Event director Whyte was thrilled to welcome the trio of riders and hearing their views on how the competition was run.
He said: “It was great to see all three of these guys back on their feet and returning to the North West 200.
“Ryan, Ben and Nico know better than anyone the dangers of road racing and we really value their support and advice as we strive to improve safety around the track. They still have some way to travel with their own recoveries and everyone at the North West wishes them well with that.”
