A BIZARRE accident has left Totton motorcycle road-racer John Crockford fretting over his British Championship prospects.

Racers like Crockford accept broken bones as an occupational hazard - but not when they fall off bicycles!

That's just what Crockford did on the eve of the British Superstock Championship round at Oulton Park.

He and a few racing mates took a "fun" ride on a mountain and Crockford ended up flying over the handlebars and breaking his collarbone.

"We'd just come down a hill and I hit a bump and went over. I landed on my shoulder, there was a loud crack and, when I got up, the bone was sticking out of my shoulder.

"When I cried out that I'd broken my shoulder the other lads thought I was joking and started laughing. But it was no laughing matter. Apart from the pain, I'd put myself out of the Oulton Park race and I doubt I'll be fit for the next round at Silverstone on Sunday."

Crockford, who broke his leg in the first round at Silverstone but incredibly turned up at Brands Hatch 14 days later and won, hasn't ruled out the prospect of riding next weekend.

But he'll have to pass a fitness test on Thursday which includes 40 press-ups and he admits: "I doubt I'll be able to achieve that. But I'll give it a go."

Crockford says he can't afford to miss many more championship rounds. "If I don't race at Silverstone that will make it three no-finishes and that might leave me too much ground to make up on the leaders Chris Burns and Dave Jefferies," he said.

The 28-year-old Totton racer was lying second to Roundstone Suzuki teammate Burns in the championship after taking third place at Donington on April 28. Now he's slipped back to third but he's 40 points behind Burns and 24 behind Jefferies, who won at Oulton Park.

"This is the most frustrating injury I've ever suffered," groaned Crockford, "and I expected my team manager to be mad at me.

"Fortunately he took it well. Riding mountain bikes is part of our fitness training. I've been on a bike loads of times but never had anything like this. Next time I'll be a lot more careful when I ride one."

Waterlooville's Jamie Morley, one of Crockford's mountain bike colleagues, has at last taken possession of the IFC Ducati he'll ride in the British Superbike Championship.

The bike has been late arriving from Italy and Morley has had to beg and borrow machinery for the first three rounds. The superbikes get their next airing at Snetterton on June 2 when Morley will be partnered in the IFC junior team by Kenny Tibble, another rider with Hampshire links.

Two years ago when Tibble was based in Swanwick, he won the British 125cc championship. He has since moved back to his native Yorskshire.