LEICESTER have been left anxiously awaiting injury updates following yet another weather-wrecked fixture – this time at Swindon on Thursday.
Watling JCB Lions No.1 Martin Vaculik was taken to hospital after a heavy crash in an aborted attempt to run Heat 1, following which the meeting was abandoned.
And short-term signing Michael Palm Toft was also involved, although he at least was able to return to the pits.
The meeting at the Abbey Stadium started in drizzly conditions and all four riders hit trouble on the third bend of Heat 1 with Swindon’s Nick Morris, who was the race leader, coming to grief first.
Palm Toft and Vaculik followed him into the air-fence, with the Slovakian coming off worst and being stretchered into the ambulance with a suspected broken ankle. The injury to Palm Toft is also ankle-related, but is thought to be a sprain.
There was then a unanimous decision between riders of both sides and the referee to abandon the meeting.
Skipper Danny King said: “We thought the biggest problem beforehand would be the visibility. The track didn’t seem too wet when we walked it, and I don’t think anyone complained about it.
“Obviously underneath it was a lot wetter but from walking on it, it seemed dry enough to race on. But it was damper than we thought, and it caught the riders out because as soon as they got to peak speed and tried to turn, none of them could.
“I’m just a bit speechless really. It doesn’t look good for Martin, our thoughts are with him and we just keep our fingers crossed it isn’t as bad as first feared.”
Updates on Vaculik and Palm Toft will follow ahead of the next attempt to start the Lions’ Premiership campaign with the visit of Somerset to the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena on Monday.
