Jack Thomas: Ipswich Witches rider 'scared' after serious injuries in practice crash
- Published
Jack Thomas was with King's Lynn Stars last year and has also ridden for Newcastle, Glasgow, Leicester, Birmingham and Oxford
Ipswich Witches rider Jack Thomas has admitted to being "scared" for the first time in his career after suffering serious injuries in practice.
The 23-year-old suffered fractured vertebrae in his neck and back in a high-speed crash in Scunthorpe.
It was the first time he had been on a bike since breaking both wrists in a previous accident.
"It was a hell of a shock and probably the most worrying [crash] I've had," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.
"I hadn't practised or been on a bike in eight months since I had a bad crash at King's Lynn and was hoping to get myself settled in.
"The track wasn't perhaps the best, I came into the corner and the track didn't hold me up. I span round and and went head first under the air fence.
"As I hit the air fence it lifted up and my head and body went underneath so I hit the concrete at 50, 60 mph, maybe more."
Norwich-born Thomas was knocked unconscious by the impact but came round in an ambulance taking him to hospital.
"I've always taken injuries, not for granted, but not really thought about them much," he said.
"When I broke my wrists I thought 'I can fix that, I'll be alright'. I have always looked at crashes like that as not major problems, but this was the first time I've actually been more scared.
"I didn't know where I was, and came round with a drip in my arm, and medics telling me I can't move."
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Thomas, who signed for the Witches in December as their Rising Star for 2023,, external also suffered broken ribs and a bruised lung in the crash.
He is now wearing a neck brace and admitted he had briefly considered whether he should give up racing.
"I spoke to my partner and mum and dad and thought 'is it telling me I'm unlucky, don't do it any more?', said Thomas.
"I got transferred to Hull and the surgeon came and had a chat with me about what the procedures were going to be. I was thinking 'that's my life [in speedway] done'. But I rang a couple of riders, they've both had big injuries and said to me, 'don't make any decisions til you're fit'.
"There's still a chance that even with this brace I could be walking along and lose feeling or end up paralysed but at the moment, I've got to be positive and as the riders have said, just look to get myself fit before I make any decisions about riding."
He added: "It could be one of [my] nine lives [gone] and has definitely given me something to think about while I'm off."
- Published24 February 2023
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