FROM THE TRACK: Chrissy Rouse Tells Us About His Cadwell Crash

Introducing our new 'FROM THE TRACK' blog series, with news, insights and more from the world of bike racing. For this first blog, we caught up with MSG Bike Gear sponsored rider Chrissy Rouse and asked him about his crash at Cadwell.

What went through your mind after you had come off?

So, it was a bit of a strange one at Cadwell, as I was actually unconscious in the crash, so it took a little bit of time to 'come around' and realise what had happened. As I was under the air fence, my first memory was the medics pulling the padding from on top of me whilst I felt like I was just waking up from a dream, it was very surreal. Obviously I was gutted to crash out of the race. I was lying in the back of the ambulance, a bit confused and with two sore hands/wrists, a sore knee and ankle. But to be honest, the pain was irrelevant as I felt so bad for the team as they had put so much effort in over the weekend to not finish both races.

What have you been up to since the crash?

For the first week, not very much at all! Lots of icing and pain killers, I made a trip to Edinburgh to go to the hyperbaric chamber too in order to speed up recovery. Although I missed Silverstone, I did go to watch and I ended up spending quite a lot of the weekend in the commentary tower with the legendary Fred Clarke which was a great experience. I have also started a teacher training course through Newcastle University teaching maths at a secondary school which I'm enjoying. I have just started some light training which I have really missed the past few weeks and I'm hoping to get back fit for Brands Hatch BSB.

How are you physically and mentally preparing for your next race?

I have just got back to training early on a morning this week with some light running up and down flights of stairs in Newcastle. I still can’t bear any weight on my hands so I'm very limited in what I can do, but I’m hoping to get in the gym next week. I'm ready mentally and as soon as I'm fit, I'm really looking forward to getting back out.

Has this affected your confidence at all?

No, not at all, it's just part of the sport.

What did you take away from the experience?

I always try and learn from my mistakes and having to miss two rounds has given me a long time to reflect and analyse my performances and how I can improve. I don't want to go into details, but in a few different aspects I plan to improve and move forward. It's been a huge learning curve for me this season, especially learning the demands of riding a Superbike to its potential. I feel like I'm making great progress but there is lots of work to do and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in ASAP.

Left to Right: Mick Dawson (MD of MSG Bike Gear), Charlie Farrer (British Talent Cup, another Durham young racer), Chrissy Rouse (Movuno.com Halsall Racing Suzuki), Stu Turner (Shop Manager at MSG Bike Gear) Assen BSB 30^th September 2018

Chrissy Rouse #69 is a local racing hero. MSG Bike Gear is proud to support North-East talent in the British Superbikes; look out for the MSG Bike Gear visor sticker when Chrissy gets back on his Halsall Racing Suzuki Superbike at Brands Hatch next weekend.

Chrissy missed the Silverstone round after crashing out of race one at Cadwell Park. He got back on the bike for free practice at Assen but the injuries sustained at Cadwell were still affecting his performance so he bowed out of this one.

Follow Chrissy Rouse on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChrissyRouseRacing
Check out www.chrissyrouseracing.com