Motorpoint British Supersport pre-season title favourite Graeme Gowland has decided to spend a year away from racing following a pre-season testing crash that ended with a broken right femur.

The Smiths Triumph man says he wants to give his body enough time to heal and to complete a full rehabilitation programme. Gowland says he will remain on hand to help team-mate Jake Dixon with his season. Team boss Rebecca Smith isn’t looking to replace Gowland.

“I am gutted to be in the position as the Smiths Racing team have not stopped development after the success of 2014 and they had worked hard to make my bike even better than it was before! Even though I had not ridden a bike in five months I was up to speed at our test at the Guadix Circuit in no time and I genuinely felt as though I was in the best form of my career. Then it all went wrong,” said Gowland in a statement.

“I ran wide off the track and onto the gravel at turn 3 and unfortunately it’s the part of the track with the least amount of run off. I managed to put the bike down just before the wall but the bike followed me in which caused the impact to break my right femur. It was scary for me in a foreign country but the medical team and Guadix Circuit personnel were brilliant, so a big thank you to them.

“I was operated on the day after the accident, to have a nail inserted down the centre of my femur and another up towards my hip as the break is high up. I spent a week recovering in hospital in Granada in Spain which was an experience! I flew back home last week and it feels great to be back at home. I have seen a specialist in Newcastle who is sending me for a CT scan to determine if he needs to reset anything or if I can go straight into a rehabilitation programme with a physiotherapist. All in all I’m feeling really good.

“At the moment I am looking at taking a 12 month sabbatical from racing to ensure that I complete my rehabilitation programme properly and I give my body the time that it needs to heal. In the short-term I would like to help my team mates Billy and Jake as much as I possibly can. I feel that I have a lot of knowledge and experience to pass on. I’m looking forward to seeing Jake ride back here. I’ve rated Jake since I met him in 2012 and after seeing him ride in Spain - he’s the one to watch! Billy looked awesome in Spain too so I know that Smiths will have a great year.

“I would like to say a massive thank you the Smiths Racing team for all of their support.”