Ian Hutchinson
Professional motorcycle racers are a unique breed of human beings. They wrestle with their motorcycles moving ahead at heart-stopping speeds and come out successfully at the other end. And no matter how well prepared, well-equipped and alert a rider is, he is, many times, riding into the unknown given the universal risks involved in keeping the rubber side down when you have only two of them in a line!
Racing, a calculated risk?
Racing on a race track is like taking calculated risks in a sense that there are several safety measures put into place should a rider encounter an unfortunate situation which may result in physical injury. There are run-off areas with extended tarmac, large areas filled with gravel and mud to help slow the rider and the motorcycle down, there are tyre walls and of course, race marshals with their keen eye out at every track. Yet, even with all the preparedness, bad things happen to racers. Mostly small, some take time to heal while few are career ending or even fatal. No rider would ever like to imagine himself in the last situation. On the other hand, Street Racing events such as Isle of Man TT, though immensely popular, are even more dangerous because their safety arrangements are simply not at the level as the ones on a race track.
Motorcycle racing is like an adventure sport which serves your adrenaline and by nature, is likely more dangerous than regular sports.
In this article, we will celebrate the bravery and the determination of a rider who experienced a career-ending injury in a race, but stayed strong to return to doing what he loves most – riding and racing motorcycles.
Ian Hutchinson
Ian Hutchinson
Ian Hutchinson is a British motorcycle racer who has been racing professionally since 2003. He specialises in Street Racing events such as Isle Of Man TT, North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix. He has also participated in on-track racing events like the British Supersport Championship.
Since his debut in 2003, Ian has had a number of wins under his name which includes 11 Isle Of Man TT wins and 1 win each for the North West 200 and the Macau Grand Prix. His most number of wins came in the year 2010 when he took 5 IOM TT wins as well as his only North West 200 victory.
However, there’s a rider like John McGuiness who is older and has, at least, 23 IOM TT wins under his belt and is the most successful TT racer so far. So why are we really talking about Ian Hutchinson?
For that, we have to delve a bit deep into his career and see if there’s more to him and his victories!
The Accident and the Will Power to Make a Comeback
Incidentally, 2010 was the same year when Ian met with a terrible accident while racing in the British Supersport Championship riding a Honda CBR600RR. Hutchinson, along with few other riders, fell on the track as the conditions were wet and then he got hit by another rider and received multiple fractures in his left leg. The injury was severe enough to make Hutchinson skip the remaining BSB season as well as next year’s North West 200 and the Isle Of Man TT.
Since then, Ian has received 30 operations including skin grafts and an external fixator to support his left leg.
But he didn’t give up. Ian has since continued his quest to return to motorcycle racing. He has tried to ensure that the injury doesn’t affect his racing much and his results show that.
In 2013, Ian got his first victory in the Macau Grand Prix since 2010. In 2015, he went on to win three Isle of Man TT races taking his total TT wins to 11. Just phenomenal. For this year, 2016, Ian has signed with the BMW Tyco team and he will ride the S1000RR Superbike in IOM TT and other international races.
It is inspirational when we look at people like Ian and their intent to not give up no matter what. Here’s wishing that Ian Hutchinson continues to race for as long as he desires and hoping that he would win more races and championships in the years to come.
