Matt Wigley planning on speedy recovery

The 21-year-old fractured two vertebrae in the incident, which took place during the qualifying session for round four of the National Superstock 1000 Championships at Knockhill on Saturday.

Wigley was taken by ambulance from the circuit to the Victoria Hospital in nearby Kirkcaldy where he received treatment.

Now resting back at home in Staffordshire, his focus has already switched to getting back on the bike as soon as he possibly can.

“The doctor’s have told me it will be between an eight to 12 week recovery time but I hope to be back quicker than that,” he said. “I am going to see a specialist next Monday and we will see what they say.

“There is no magic cure for backs, I have just been told to take it easy and rest until we see what we can do. At the moment my physio is getting out of the chair and sitting back down.

“They have given me some strong painkillers. I am just going to have to be patient.”

Wigley, who has stepped up from the 600 Superstock class this season, had been getting to grips with the Scottish track when he lost control of his Sorrymate.com Kawasaki on the final bend.

“It was the first time we had been on the track with the 1000 bike and I had been struggling a little with the set-up,” he explained

“When qualifying came around I was finally starting to get the feel of it and going quite well.

“Then when I was coming into the final corner the bike locked up and threw me off the handlebars. By the time I had got back on I was heading for the air fence and a 100mph crash. On impact I heard my spine crack. Then I blacked out.”

Wigley, who also suffered bleeding on the eye as a result of the crash, brushed it off as “just one of those things”.

He added: “It is just part and parcel of the sport. You have to accept you are going to have these kind of accidents now and again.”

Regardless, the incident capped off an incident packed weekend for the Wigley family, with Matt’s twin brother Kurt experiencing some painful struggles of his own in the British Supersport series.

Two crashes, the second of which occurred during qualifying, left him playing catch-up but to his credit he was able to fight back to claim a 13th-placed race finish and three championship points.

“Kurt was doing really well and put in a fantastic time in the first sector on his flying lap in qualifying,” explained Matt. “Unfortunately he ended up crashing it in the second sector.

“He went into the air barrier and it left him with a bit of soft tissue damage. For a time it was difficult for him to get back sitting on the bike.

“To get a 13th-placed finish after everything which went on was really impressive. At one stage of the race he dropped back to 16th but was able to fight his way back and pick up some points despite feeling the pain in his lower limbs.”

The three-point haul brought Kurt’s tally for the season to nine and sees him sit 19th in the overall standings.