MOTOCROSS star Gordon Crockard has endured a painful baptism for the Meon Valley-based Bike it Dixon Yamaha team.

The former British champion damaged his ankle in the Hawkstone International two weeks ago, and when he made his British Championship debut for the team at Canada Heights last Sunday, he was hit on the head by another bike!

The Ulsterman joined Steve Dixon's Yamaha team after missing a big chunk of the 2004 season with a knee injury.

The ankle problem he picked up at Hawkstone affected him in the first round of the Maxxis British Championship, but he finished eighth place in his first race - that despite stalling the bike twice.

After a poor start to the second event, Crockard was pitched off his bike by a huge sidewind.

It was as he was crawling his way back to the side of the track that he was hit on the head by another rider. He wasn't badly injured.

Former British Championship runner-up Billy Mackenzie is flying the flag for the Bike It Yamaha team in the MX2 class.

He suffered mechanical problems in his first race of the year, finishing 11th, while a poor start on a bent rear brake pedal affected him in his second.