Haslam out of Knockhill with cracked vertebrae and concussion

MCE British Superbike championship leader Leon Haslam has been ruled out of the Knockhill race weekend by his heavy FP1 high-side in which he has sustained two cracked vertebrae and was briefly knocked out.

The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider, who was involved in a scary crash with James Ellison in race two at Oulton Park in May, entered the Knockhill round with a three point lead on team-mate Luke Mossey but will be unable to defend his advantage after sustaining his injuries in a huge high-side fall midway through FP1 which saw the session red flagged.

Haslam was taken by ambulance to the medical centre and was conscious before being transferred to hospital where he was diagnosed with two fractured vertebrae and concussion.

JG Speedfit Kawasaki team manager Jack Valentine has given an update on Haslam's condition and his recovery timeframe is currently unknown.

"Unfortunately, Leon went down in free practice one and has a couple of cracked vertebrae," Valentine said. "Unfortunately he got knocked out for couple of mins so that rules him out here.

"Other than that he's OK, just waiting in hospital to make sure cracked vertebrae are stable."