Easton recovers

Easton suffered a 150mph crash after he collided with his team-mate Gary Mason on the first lap of the Superstock practice session on the fast run between Mill Road roundabout and Station Corner on Thursday.

The Scottish rider is being treated at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and Whyte provided an update on his condition after visiting the injured star.

“Stuart has broken his femur and pelvis,” Whyte said.

“His pelvis seems to be broken in four places and he also has some internal bleeding plus several broken fingers.

“He had a CT scan and his chest is okay and he has no head injuries, which is positive,” added Whyte.

The NW200 race chief revealed that Easton faces a long recovery period following the horror crash.

“If he comes through I would think that Stuart will be out of action for some time.

“He is sedated and they will do further tests on him.

“But when you look at it it’s a miracle that he is alive when you think of where he crashed.

“Hopefully he will recover from this and he’s in the best possible hands.

“Our medical personnel did a fantastic job as usual and Fred McSorley and his team are the best to have in that situation.”

The session was red-flagged and there was a delay of around 50 minutes until Easton was transported to hospital and the debris was swept from the course.

Easton is the second leading British Superbike rider to have suffered a serious accident at the North West in the past year.

Twelve months ago event favourite Steve Plater also suffered a serious crash during the daytime practice session on the Thursday of race week.