'Brain fog' after NW200 crash was worrying

BBC News

14 hours ago

Motorcycle road racer Jamie Coward says he believes he "got away lightly" after crashing at last month's North West 200 but explained that persistent "brain fog" was a concern in the weeks following the incident.The 34-year-old came off his Kawasaki machine at Quarry Hill during the opening Supertwins race over the Triangle circuit and was taken to hospital in Coleraine for treatment on his injuries.He returned home to England a few days later but missed the subsequent Isle of Man TT."At first in hospital they thought I had a bleed on the brain but they had to send it off to a specialist to find out if it was or not," Coward told BBC Sport NI."It turned out it was just badly bruised. I was severely concussed and for about four or five weeks I've not really felt like myself and it wasn't really until a week ago that a lightbulb came on and I'm back to myself again."At one point it got quite worrying with it being such a long time with that brain fog."Coward revealed that he also sustained "a hole in the leg" in the accident on the Saturday of race week."I'm not sure what punctured my leg, but either a footpeg or a handlebar or a lever went about four or five inches into my leg and left quite a big deep wound."I had to leave that open, let it heal from the inside out, but the worst thing was the bang on the head."I'm back to normal, back working and looking forward to getting back on a bike."
'I blacked out when I hit the floor'
The Yorkshireman had been competing at the North West for the first time since 2022 and his stable of machinery also included a factory-backed Triumph for the Supersport class and BMW bikes for the 1000cc categories.He has achieved podium finishes at both the North West and the TT in the past and had posted sixth places in the opening Superbike and Supersport races on the Thursday evening of this year's event, before crashing two days later."I felt really good and on that first race day at the North West. I had some really strong results after being away for two years."I can remember exactly what happened [in the crash]. I tried to go past somebody into the last corner. He went defensive, as you do on the last lap of the race, and as I grabbed the brake I lost the front end. When I hit the floor I blacked out and I can't remember anything else until I woke up in the hospital."In previous incidents and crashes there, people ended their careers."Coward's racing itinerary in the coming weeks will include a return to the Armoy road races on 25-26 July.He was named man-of-the-meeting at the event in 2024."I'm hoping that the confidence is still there when I get back on the bike and I'll be trying my best to get back to where I was," added the KTS Steadplan Racing rider."I absolutely love the Armoy road races. It's very reminiscent of the Southern 100 races where I started my road racing career."The committee, the people who run it, are really friendly and I love the circuit and the spectators come out in force."Last year Coward won both Supertwins races, setting a new lap record for the class at 100.536mph in the process, and also achieved two third positions and a fourth in other races at the meeting in County Antrim."You cross the finish line and people are waving their programmes at you. There's no other feeling like it."If I can find that confidence I had before the crash then we should be there or thereabouts and fighting for podiums and wins again."