John Crockford is prepared to ride through the pain barrier to safeguard his place as top privateer in the British Superbike Championship.

The 26-year-old road racer from Totton tore his hamstring and damaged his knee ligaments in a frightening spill at Oulton Park last week.

But, despite being in a good deal of discomfort, Crockford aims to ride in the next round of the Superbikes at Knockhill in Scotland on August 13.

What hurt him as much as the fall at Oulton was the fact that Dave Heal, who is chasing him harder than anybody in the privateers championship, picked up maximum points in his absence.

"Dave gained 50 points on me," said Crockford ruefully. "The gap is now down to just 20 points but I know I still have the beating of him. I was ahead when I fell at Oulton Park."

Crockford says the accident was a bit of a nerve jangler.

"I was going into Lodge Corner at around 120mph when the front brake disc exploded," he explained.

"Suddenly I had no brakes and all I could do was to engage second gear, lay the bike down and slide into the tyre wall. Unfortunately I hit it pretty hard and did a fair bit of damage to myself."

When I spoke to the Performance House-sponsored Suzuki rider, he was in Ipswich having specialist laser treatment on his injuries.

"The doctors wanted me to go in to plaster," he says, "but that way I wouldn't have been able to ride at Knockhill. "So I have compromised with a hinged support which allows me to go on racing but will slow me down a bit."

Crockford has created a sensation in the Superbikes in what is only his second season in big-time motor-bike racing.

Before his accident at Oulton Park, he was outpacing several of the factory riders.

"The bike was really flying and I outqualified six of the factory boys. My lap times were two seconds quicker than the last time I raced there which was some improvement," he said.

Hampshire's other Superbike campaigner Fran Williamson from Petersfield picked up third and fifth places at Oulton Park on his T3 Team Yamaha.

Up at the front end of the field the battle for honours rages on between John Reynolds, Neil Hodgson and Chris Walker, who rides for the Christchurch-based National Tyres Suzuki team.

Red Bull Ducati man Reynolds has led for much of the season but Burnley-based Hodgson on the INS Ducati has been closing in recent weeks while Walker is close enough in the points table to keep both men on their toes.

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