Southampton motor cycle road race star John Crockford has been accepted as wild card entry into this weekend's World SuperSports Championship at Silverstone.

But the death of his friend and rival Dave Jefferies in the Isle of Man TT races may mean that Crockford will have to miss out on the chance-of-a-liftime ride.

Jefferies' funeral is in Yorkshire on Friday and Crockford's Yorkshire-based Padgett team want to pay their final respects to the rider who lost his life in a 160mph practice accident in the Isle of Man last week.

Crockford explained: "We'd need to set up at Silverstone tomorrow in preparation for testing on Friday. If we're not there on Friday, we'll lose our entry."

The Bitterne-based rider admits it's a major dilemma.

"Dave and I were great rivals for two years in the Superstock Championship and under normal circumstaces I would want to be at his funeral myself," said Crockford. "But getting a ride in the world championship is a big opportunity for me, the biggest I've had, and I don't want to miss out. But if the whole Padgett team want to go to the funeral, then it looks as if I'll have to.

"I'm hoping they can come up with some kind of compromise solution."

It was at Silverstone earlier in the season that Crockford achieved his best result in the British SuperSports Championship when he took his Padgett Honda to a close second place behind championship leader Karl Harris.

Crockford admits that he was giving some thought to riding in future Isle of Man TT races, but he said: "I've changed my mind after what happened to Dave. He was a master of the TT and won nine times there, but if something like that can happen to him, I don't want to know.

"He was a good rider, one of the best. We had many big scraps on the race track. He was a hard racer, but he was good and I knew I could trust him all the way. We were bitter rivals but we became good friends. The whole paddock will miss him."

Jamie Morley from Waterlooville was one of Jefferies' main rivals for this season's Superstock Championship and the loss of the big Yorkshireman opens the series up.

But Morley admitted: "It won't be the same without Dave there."

Topping the bill at Silverstone on Sunday will be rounds 11 and 12 of the World Superbike Championship.

And they promise to be a UK benefit with Neil Hodgson already well out in front for the title after winning nine of the ten races so far.

His only defeat came last time out in Germany where the fast-emerging young Yorkshireman Jamie Toseland denied Hodgson an all-time World Superbike record of ten straight wins.

Another Briton coming to the boil after early-season injury problems is Chris Walker, Toseland's teammate in the HM Plant Ducati team.