Corser 'more or less OK' after Monza crashes

Troy Corser was lucky to come away with just a sore arm following two mammoth crashes during the latest round of the World Superbike Championship at Monza.

The former champion was one of the riders involved in the turn one clash during the first race, Corser being taken out by an errant bike before it proceeded to land on his neck as he came to rest on the tarmac.

Despite the ferocity of the incident, Corser was able to walk away from the accident unharmed, even if he wasn't impressed with the conduct of the marshals who attended to him.

"I knew nothing about what started the crash on lap one of the first race," he said. "One minute I was going into the chicane and the next minute I was flying through the air. Then, while I was on my knees, I got hit by another bike. It banged into the top of my back, near my neck and the impact was strong enough to thump my helmet on to the floor.

"I managed to get off the track and fell down on the grass to rest while I got my breath back, but the marshals wanted me out of the way and tried to pull me on to a stretcher. I was lucky that I hadn't damaged my neck, because they way they handled me would have caused further injury for sure. After I while, I got my breath back and walked back to the pits and prepared for the restart. The team didn't put any pressure on me at all, in fact the opposite."

Returning to action for the restart, Corser's second big accident of the day would come at the end of the opening lap when he got sucked into a multiple bike draft, one he couldn't control when he entered the Parabolica.

"I felt OK and decided to give [the restart] it a go. This time, I almost completed a lap! I got pulled along in a four or five rider draft and found myself going into the Parabolica a bit too quick. Karl Muggeridge was alongside or came across a bit and I had to choose between hitting him or applying more pressure to the brakes.

"Of course, I put more pressure on the brakes and down I went. I slid feet first, then did a couple of flips and I was really lucky not to hurt myself any more."

Choosing to sit out the second race, while Corser was frustrated to watch Ruben Xaus take BMW to their best result of the season, he was pleased to come away from his accidents uninjured.

"I am happy that I survived two big crashes more or less OK, but sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. My left arm was sore and when I got back to the pits, we made the decision not to start race two.

"I was a bit dazed anyway, so it was the right choice. It's a pity because I really felt that we'd get good results today and Ruben's seventh in race one is proof of that. Now, I've got to recover and get fit for the next race, so wish me luck."