BSB: Haslam plotting Jerez test return

Leon Haslam is planning to be back on his JG Speedfit Kawasaki ZX-10RR just over a month after the horrendous Brands Hatch crash that ended his 2017 British Superbike title challenge.

The 34-year-old had no choice but to jump off his machine when he experienced brake failure on the super-fast run down to Hawthorn bend. Travelling at 172mph when he pulled the front brake lever to find nothing there, Haslam reacted in just 1.6 seconds, trying to kill as much speed as possible with the rear brake before flying into the Recticel foam fencing at frightening speed.

Suffering a broken ankle and severe ligament damage in the crash as well as a broken wrist, Haslam has spent the last three weeks recuperating at his Derbyshire home and with things going well, he’s hoping to ride again for the first time as the JG Speedfit Kawasaki team begin their winter testing programme at Jerez later this month.

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“We’re testing on the 20^th November with KRT in Spain, and that will be key for the winter so the boys can produce a bike that will be an improvement next year, “Haslam said.

“The plan is to ride there for the first time and assess how I am. I’ve fought back from much worse injuries in a lot shorter periods of time, so the fact we’ve got six months before racing means I don’t need to rush to get fit this time.

“Of course, I want to be back fit and as strong as possible as my training programme usually starts towards the end of November and I spend the whole of January and February in Spain with the Lowes twins and Tommy Searle on quite an intense training programme riding bikes every day.”

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