David Higgins sustained minor injuries while training ahead of the Shaowu Rally in China.
While he was out running a lorry pulled out, and a motorbike which swerved to avoid the lorry managed to knock Higgins to the ground.
The Manxman is in good spirits, having escaped with only a sprained left ankle and a very painful right shoulder - but this is not the way he wanted to start his rallying week.
He goes back to China this week to take part in a five-way title fight for team honours in the Chinese Rally Championship on the Shaowu Rally.
The WY Rally Team, which Higgins drives for, currently lead the points table, but the rival KST team are only one point behind. The Honghe, FCACA and Subaru China teams are all also still in with a shot at the title.
“We could have wrapped up the title on the last event,” said Higgins. “But the protest which was put in against us stood, so we lost our points. So we’re heading back to China with a vengeance. I don’t feel we have a point to prove, because we have won out there more than anyone else, but we are determined to take the title for the team because it should have been ours last time out.”
This is the second time the gravel event has run, last year it was a round of the IRC but Higgins and Thomas were forced to miss it so they could attend Rally GB.
“Our stand in Jarkko Miettinen won it last year,” said Higgins. “But Juha Salo from KST will most likely be our biggest rival out there, he is as determined as us to pick up the team title and had led the event last year before he crashed out. But as usual, with it being the final round of the season, everyone will be pushing hard to ensure they impress all the teams to get a good seat for the 2010 season.
“Weather wise this one will be a shock to the system though. On some of the events this year we’ve had drivers retiring from heat stroke, but we’re told it will be around 15 degrees centigrade in Shaowu and last year they had ice on some of the early morning stages, so who knows what lies ahead.”
The Shaowu Rally takes place in South Eastern China from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th December 2009 and Higgins is hoping to do some testing of both the Evo 9 he will use this weekend, and an Evo X ahead of the event.
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Tags: accident, china, crc, david higgins, drama, injury, lorry, motorbike, running
I recently bought a fantastic CBR but had a little accident! I tried to brake consistently with the front brake but the wheel almost instantly slipped out under me! I have been on the back of a bike with somebody else a few times who has brought the rear bike up into the air by braking hard with the forward brake! How did he do it different? Im dumbstruck!