Having battled hard to even make it onto the grid at Oulton Park following his huge incident at
Thruxton, Karl Harris admitted he was devastated to crash out of both races during the latest round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.
Harris was nursing three broken bones in his right foot following the incident with Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes in the second Thruxton race, but even cut his own plaster-cast off to ensure he was able to compete at
Oulton Park.
Having managed to qualify on the second row of the grid with the sixth fastest time but made a slow getaway on the second start to the opening race to slip to ninth. However, he climbed back into his starting position by the end of the lap and set about trying to close the gap to Leon Camier ahead only to be caught out by the slippering conditions at Druids and highside off into the barriers.
The second race saw Harris running in the top ten once again in ninth place, but just when it seemed that he was going to open his account for the season, the Rob Mac Racing man went down once again at Druids to bring a tough weekend to a disappointing conclusion.
"I'm devastated," he said. "I've tried my best this weekend to overcome the situation with my foot but I don't think even I realised the full extent of it. The crash in race one gave me another heavy knock to my foot and I have suffered as a result of riding injured.
"I'm so desperate to give the team the results that they are working so hard for but I think need to concentrate on getting fit before they will come."
Team boss Rob McElnea admitted he was disappointed with how the weekend had panned out but said the two races had shown how Harris was being restricted by his injuries – which could make the going tough again at
Brands Hatch this coming weekend.
"Karl has put a very brave face on his fitness but this weekend has highlighted just how much his injury is restricting him," he said. "Obviously we are disappointed that we have shown so much promise but are yet to get the results.
"It's going to be a very tough turnaround between now and Brands Hatch for Karl to be fit."
