After the lows of snapping his bike in two last Saturday, and the highs of having friends lending him a bike and winning his first Thundersport GB GP1 race on Sunday, ‘Reckless’ Rob Elsmere was slammed back down to earth on Monday as he finally came to terms with the possibility of not riding again this season.

The Suzuki (pictured above) had literally snapped and any rider facing the prospect of fixing such damage would realise that it’s going to cost a bit to put right.

Rob, who had closed the gap to Gary May in the GP1 Championship to just 37 points, would need a new frame, tank, headstock, clip ons, switch gear, levers, rear sets and a new front wheel to race at Snetterton or for that matter any other round remaining in this years Championship. The small matter of a new set of leathers and other racing gear was also totting up the bill.

A missing Rob Elsmere at Snetterton would mean Gary’s closest rival would then be Tony Kielty, and although Tony’s recent form has been very respectable, he would be 88 points behind the leader before even starting the engine of his Kawasaki going into our East Anglian round.

Fear not though Rob Elsmere fans. After reaching deep into his pockets, receiving a lot of help from some close friends and a lot of work, Rob will be riding at Snetterton.

To add to this boost, Aprilia Superteen sponsors ‘Lloyd Lifestyle’ and ‘Nitro’ have stepped in to cover Rob from tip to toe in Motorcycle Racing Gear, an extremely generous gift from the already very helpful team supporting Ian Newton and the J&S Aprilia camp.

So a congratulations to Rob, his nearest and dearest and all that have helped to get him back on circuit ready for round five. The news really is the ‘K9 Testicoli’ as Rob would put it.