Star rider in 'unheard of' comeback after crash

Ryan Vickers has won five out of his past nine races since recovering from injury

Thetford rider Ryan Vickers said his successful return to the British Superbikes Championship has been "amazing" after recovering from a crash in May.

Vickers needed surgery to have a plate fitted after breaking his collarbone in a meeting at Donington Park, but has since climbed to fifth in the riders' standings.

The OMG Racing rider is 50 points off the top spot with 12 races to go after a superb weekend at Thruxton, where he won two races and finished second in the other.

"To be even within a shout, is an amazing achievement," he said, "It's unheard of to miss six races and be in the championship fight."

Putting on the pressure

Vickers took 52 points out of a possible 54 in round 7 of the British Superbikes Championship at Thruxton

Vickers now thinks his competitors are looking worryingly over their shoulder.

"They're going to be thinking in the back of their head, 'I don't want to push that hard because I don't want to crash, I've got to save points.'

"It's really difficult to get out of that mindset once you're in it."

"If I can keep pushing... and getting those guys to get out of their comfort zone, mistakes do happen."

The OMG Yamaha rider had a near perfect weekend at Thruxton, including a dramatic finish in the second race, coming from fifteenth to take the victory.

A big finish

Vickers returns to the track for round 8 at Cadwell Park on 24-26 August, but after that the points value per race increases for the championship run-in.

With a trip to Oulton Park and returns to Donington Park and Brands Hatch for the final three rounds, he is confident he can fulfil his pre-season expectations.

"Although the luck wasn't on our side [at Donington], we were really strong there, Brands [Hatch], obviously strong," Vickers said.

"I really believe if I keep this form going, we've got a good chance of bringing home the title."