'Very sore' Bushell hoping for quick recovery

British Touring Car Championship racer Mike Bushell is hoping for a speedy recovery following his violent high speed shunt at Thruxton.

The AmD Tuning.com driver collided with Simon Belcher's Toyota Avensis when exiting the pit lane during qualifying at Thruxton. The resulting contact sent both of them into a frightening high speed plunge into the Armco barrier, destroying the cars and prompting an immediate red flag.

While Belcher escaped without any injuries, Bushell emerged from the wreckage with a dislocated hip along with suffering severe ligament damage. The 25-year old said he had to be sedated whilst the medical crew fitted him with a pelvic brace before being taken to the Southampton General Hospital.

"Yeah a heavy, heavy impact. I've just been talking to the circuit doctor and we think that my hip was dislocated as I got out of the car. That's why it was at a funny angle so they put a pelvic brace on after they sedated me," Bushell told.crash.net.

"It seems to have 'clonked' back in but I'll have to have an MRI scan just to see what's gone on damage wise.

"The car, as you expect, is totalled. But you can replace bits on the car, not bits on your body so I've just got to heal up and hopefully get back out there soon."

Recalling the crash, Bushell put the contact down to unfortunate timing as the reigning Renault Clio Cup champion said Belcher's Handy Motorsport Avensis was completely in his blind spot when exiting the pit lane.

"If I'd seen him I wouldn't have gone there. I honestly looked but he was in my blind spot. Honest to God, I just didn't see him. Just one of things unfortunately, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time," said Bushell.

"It was just bad luck that he was in my blind spot at that split second but at least Simon [Belcher] is alright. He's obviously got a lot of damage to the car but luckily there were no injuries for him."