It was at Knockhill Circuit during the first British Superbike free practice session that Haslam suffered a high-speed crash in Turn 6 on his JG Speedfit Kawasaki ZX-10R. He lost consciousness, was taken to the circuit medical center and then to the local hospital to undergo a CT scan.
Leon regained consciousness after about two minutes, but fractures were found in two vertebrae.
It is all the more regrettable as Haslam had just finished second as a wild card in the Superbike World Championship on May 28 at Donington, on a Kawasaki Puccetti (the team that hires Kenan Sofuoglu).
According to the British federation's regulations relating to unconsciousness, he is prohibited from riding for the next eight days.
CCTV footage of Haslam's crash pic.twitter.com/zaPQzz44Ua
— Bennetts British Superbike Championship (@OfficialBSB) June 16, 2017
We hope that he will be ready for the Suzuka 8H on July 30, in which he is supposed to participate with Team Green Kawasaki with whom he finished on the second step of the podium with Yanagawa and Watanabe last year. He had also already won the event twice with Honda in 2013 and 2014.
In GP, Leon rode twice at home as a wild card in 125 in 1998 and 99, then participated in three full seasons, in 125 in 2000, in 500 in 2001, then in 250 in 2002.
We wish him not to suffer too much, to keep his spirits up, and to heal completely as quickly as possible.
Photos and sources: motorcyclenews. com, crash.net et BSB / MotorSport Vision Racing
