Scottish racer Callum Grigor seriously injured in crash at British Superbike round suffered cardiac arrest after 'brake failure' collision and admits it was 'touch and go'
A Scottish rider seriously injured in a crash during the British Superbike round at Donington Park in September has revealed the cause of the terrifying accident and outlined the shocking catalogue of injuries he sustained.
Callum Grigor came off in the National Superstock 1000 race and collided with Manx road racer Nathan Harrison, who suffered a fractured vertebrae and broken leg in the red-flag incident on September 6.
The 27-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest and credits the BSB medical team with saving his life at the trackside.
He was placed in a medically induced coma and treated at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
After several weeks, he was eventually transferred to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, before he was finally discharged in early October.
In a detailed video update outlining the cause of the accident, his injuries and the progress he has had made, The Wishaw racer cited brake failure as the cause of the crash, which happened at Goddards on the opening lap.
“The cause of the crash was that I had brake failure, the cause of which was another rider collided with me earlier on that opening lap, which led to that incident involving myself and Nathan Harrison going into Goddards, which left us both seriously injured,” said Grigor, who was able to piece together what happened from the data gathered by his team.
“As I say, I don't know what happened during that crash, I haven't wanted to watch the video back from the circuit. But the data from the bike shows that I tried my best to slow down using the front brake.
“I went to grab the front brake and there's a tiny little spike, and then it goes to 0 bar brake pressure; I was trying everything I could by the looks of it to slow down, going down a couple gears, trying my best to pull the back brake, so that when I was ejected from the bike, the front was travelling at 90 miles an hour, and the rear was travelling at 0 miles an hour. So, scary, scary stuff.
“I suffered a cardiac arrest due to the knock to the head and my spine cord being crushed… and was given CPR to restart my heart by the doctors – the BSB doctors – who were there.
“Undoubtedly, I was saved by the response of the BSB medical team, which I will be forever grateful for. And I was extremely fortunate enough to meet many of the BSB medical team, and thank them personally for saving my life when Hannah [Callum’s partner] and I went to the final round of the championship at Brands Hatch.”
Listing the injuries he suffered in the crash, Grigor said it was “a lot to take in” and recalled how there were times when it was “touch and go” as to whether he would pull through.
“So in total I've suffered a broken hand, a broken wrist, a broken shoulder, a broken shoulder blade; I’ve broken my collarbone, five ribs – one of which is classed as severely deformed. I had three [broken] vertebrae in my back as well.
“On top of that, I've also got some nerve damage in my arm and hand from all the injuries and on the left hand side, as well as all the internal injuries… like both lungs collapsed, one was punctured and then I had a bleed on the brain as well because of the crash.”
“Some days in the hospital it was really, really, very much touch and go. And one of those days to this day is still known as ‘the Monday’ – just ‘the Monday’ – that’s when people know what you’re talking about.”
He is continuing his recovery but still has a long road ahead before he can even contemplate the prospect of riding a motorcycle again.
“I’m continuing in my recovery, making progress every single day, I think, and I'm going to be seeing some more specialists to try and get back to normal as soon as I possibly can,” Grigor said. “I'm still struggling to walk any distance really.
“One question I have been asked frequently, which is what I would wonder myself, is if I was going to get back on a bike again. The honest answer for right now is I don't know, but I've obviously a long way to go to get to a position where that would even be remotely possible.
“There’s no way that I can hold onto a bike at all. And, you know, like I say, I can hardly walk to the shop now.
“But, you know, once I'm further down the line, and then when I'm fit again, we'll make that decision when it's possible.”