Elvington, Yorkshire - The world’s fastest woman motorcyclist cheated death after crashing at more than 320km/h in front of horrified fans.
Becci Ellis, 46, was trying to beat her own speed record and had reached 406km/h when her 1300cc superbike was hit by a gust of wind and veered off the track.
Spectators - including her husband Mick - watched as the turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa swerved onto the grass and careered out of control for more than 400 metres before the mother-of-two was thrown off.
Thanks to armour-plating inside her racing suit, the IT analyst escaped with only a broken ankle, severe bruising and whiplash.
She was able to leave hospital within eight hours to watch the motorcycle competition continue at Elvington airfield in North Yorkshire.
BUMPY RIDE
Recuperating at her home in Scunthorpe, Ellis said: “I had just gone through the speed gate at 406 when the wind caught me. I was still doing around 350 and it made me sit up in the saddle and in less than a second the bike had got onto the grass.
“It was a very bumpy ride - and I knew it was going to end in pain. I managed to keep the bike upright but I was still doing around 150km/h when the bike finally dug into the dirt and spat me off. I landed on my front and blacked out briefly but the paramedics were there very quickly.”
Ellis was taken to hospital by air ambulance.
“I won’t be able to get back on a bike for a few months which is very frustrating,” she said. “But I will be back to defend my world record, though Mick will have a lot of work to do on the bike. It was pretty well trashed in the crash.”
Ellis’ record of 422km/h, set in October 2014 at the same venue, beat the previous title-holder by more than 30km/h.
“Other women are still trying to beat me but we made such a leap with the performance of my bike that it will be a long time before anybody goes faster,” she added.
Daily Mail