Brian Turner was at Armadale on Friday as a spectator. He is due to have an examination on his injured wrist and all being well will be back in action next weekend. His comeback is pencilled in for next Friday against the Czech touring team against Thomas Topinka, Josef Franc, Michael Makovsky, etc. If this goes well, he will be in action for the first competitive match of the season at Berwick in the Premier National Trophy on Saturday.
Brian has had very little luck since he took over the 'jinxed' number 6 racejacket towards the end of last season. He fell in his opening meeting at Sheffield. He missed the next meeting against Glasgow, returned against Arena Essex ten days later but was injured again soon after at Newcastle. That injury effectively finished his season.
His comeback at the start of this season lasted one lap when he was knocked off and aggrevated the injury. Christian Henry who was the primary cause of the incident, was very upset. Brian told him: "Forget about it, these things happen". Brian admits that he had a lucky escape:
"I was aching all over and felt really sore. Every bone in my body got rattled about. I am due to visit the specialist again about my wrist ebcause he didn't think it was strong enough for me to begin racing. I'm also due to step up my physiotherapy programme."
"At least the crash happened during a challenge match. We don't have any league meetings a the moment although all matches are important."
"I spoke to Christian and he said that he made a total mess of going into the corner and hit Scott. When he hit Scott, he in turn went all wrong and hit me. I thought it was just me who had fallen off. But as I sat myself up I thought where has the safety fance gone! Where is everyone? Only Aidan Collins was still going round."
"I was thrown sideways, I felt I had done 30 somersaults by the time I was finished."
"I had been really looking forward to the match, especially after Glasgow dropped me last season. I was anxious to show that they had made a mistake. Admittedly I didn't make a good start in the race. But I got through then everyone ran into each other. It was like bumper cars on turn three."
"I spoke to Christian in the dressing room afterwards and he felt so bad. I told him it was a racing accident. I did exactly the same a few years back. I wiped out two riders in my very first race."
"I think Christian thought he still had an extra few hundred yards on the straight. Australian tracks are massive - the smallest are around 350 metres - and that's what Christian is used to."
Brian is also couting the cost of the accident:
"My bike is pretty much wrecked. Broken mudguards, bent handlebars, bent forks. I've got no money to get the bike repaired because it was the first match of the season and I didn't score any points. Luckily, I've got another bike which I rode on press and practice day. I built it up myself from bits and pieces and I might have to make that do for now."
[This news item was added on April 9th 2000]