March 4, 2019
A man who suffered a serious head injury after a motorcycle crash at Hampton Downs, in Waikato, is recovering well.
The man, in his 30s, crashed into a barrier on the race track on Saturday and was flown to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition.
The man, who was wearing a helmet and protective gear, was competing in a national championship race series.
Hampton Downs commercial manager Mike Marsden said he had made inquiries this morning and been told the man was recovering well.
Rider safety was a massive priority in the motorsport environment, he said.
"We make that a real focus of the business. He would have been seen to within 30 seconds by our first responders."
There were always three ambulances on the circuit for these types of events, he said.
Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew chief Mark Cannell said they were called at 10.32am to reports of a man with critical injuries following a crash on the race track.
It was estimated the bike had been coming out of a turn at 60-70km/h before hitting a barrier comprised of a mix of steel and concrete, Cannell said.
The race track was shut down and good clinical care had been given before they arrived, he said.
"The patient fortunately had regained a certain amount of his level of consciousness," Cannell said.
"He had certainly improved."
He was reassessed as having serious injuries, Cannell said.
The significant impact marks on his helmet indicate that if his helmet was not up to speed or was in poor repair it would have been a different story, he said.
