Market Rasen racer crashes out of Brands Hatch opener

After a pre-season test at Donington Park, Crowe took his BMW to the Kent circuit for the first round of the Thundersport GB Championships and secured fourth place in his first race.

Friday was test day and Crowe was hoping to get up to speed ahead of qualifying on Saturday in the Thundersport GP1 class.

But it all went wrong when brake failure signalled a high-speed crash. He escaped with some bruises and a broken finger, but the bike was not so lucky.

“It was a 120mph crash and it hurt,” he said. “I broke my little finger, sprained both ankles and have whiplash.”

Qualifying went smoothly on the second bike and Crowe was happy to secure a front row start to race one on Saturday in third place.

Crowe rode well to record a strong fourth place in the first race of the weekend.

He added: “That was a good result and it got the adrenaline going which helped with the pain.

“I was a bit frustrated, though, as I had the pace to run at the front and maybe lead or even win, but I got held up behind a dice for third and I just couldn’t get through until they split up.

“I dropped six-and-a-half seconds behind the leaders, but managed to claw it back to fourth in the last five laps.”

Crowe started race two on Sunday from the second row, but took the gamble to go out on slicks on a drying track.

But it all went wrong for him and he suffered a big high side and crashed, ending his chances of tackling the final race of the weekend.

He said: “I’m going home to rest up and then tackle the rebuilding of the bikes so I am ready for the next round.”

Crowe hopes to complete the repairs to his bikes and be fully fit in time for the next round at Donington Park over the weekend of March 24 to 26.