Race day at Assen lasted little more than a few corners for PSG-1 Kawasaki's Chris Walker, the hard charging Brit colliding with local wild-card Jurgen van den Goorbergh on lap one of race one - the impact breaking the Brit's elbow in two places even before he even fallen from the bike.
"I've broken my right arm in two places around my elbow so I'll be out for a month, if I'm lucky, so hopefully I'll make the last race of the year. I'm a bit smashed really; it's the third time this year that I've fallen through no fault of my own. I've crashed four times in the races and three times it's been somebody else's fault," a still smiling Chris told
Crash.net immediately afterwards.
So what exactly happened?
"van den Goorbergh got into the corner a little bit hot - he must have made a great start, because I'd made a good start to get from 13th up to the top 8 - I tipped into the corner behind Abe and Muggeridge and the next thing I know a Rizla Suzuki crashed into the back of my arm and broke it even before I hit the deck. So I'm a bit sore to say the least," he explained.
"(van den Goorbergh) obviously didn't do it on purpose - he's been and apologised - but it's a shame because it's contract time and I haven't got a job yet for next year," he revealed. "It's not a good place to be - on the sidelines when it's contract time - so I'm a bit smashed... and obviously he didn't have a lot to gain from doing what he did; he wasn't going to win the race no matter where he was on the first lap."
When asked by
Crash.net to give his version of the accident, an apologetic van den Goorbergh said that he was unable to avoid hitting the Kawasaki rider.
"I wasn't trying to overtake him, that was not the point, we just went for the same direction," said the experienced Dutchman. "He was just a little bit in front of me - he couldn't see me - and my rear wheel was already in the air and I thought 'ohhhh shit! We are on the same line'. At that minute you know you are going to collide. I am very sorry."
