Former MotoGP rider rider Chris Burns is holding his breath for some good news on the health of his former IDM team-mate Michael Schumacher.

As the most successful racer in F1 history remains in a medically-induced coma on his 45th birthday today, the Geordie is hoping the star can pull through.

Burns - who is eyeing a racing return in 2014 – teamed up with Schumacher for a handful of rounds of the German Superbike series in 2009 when the pair raced together at the Holzhauer Honda team.

“He was like a machine. All he ever wanted to do was better himself so he would literally absorb everything you told him,” Burns told bikesportnews.com today.

“I remember going out there for my first race with the team and I was bit unsure of what he was going to be like. But when I met him I was totally shocked. He was a really cool guy, no arrogance or anything. He just wanted to race.

“I remember coming back into the garage after my first session and he was there next to me, asking a million questions, looking to find out how he could go quicker. He had that racer’s mentality where he always wanted to be faster and he wanted to know as much as he could so he could work out how to do it.

“For a man who was 40 at the time and who hadn’t been a motorcycle racer, he was bloody quick – had he started riding when he was younger he would’ve been a champion without doubt.

“When I heard about the accident I just felt sick. We got on really well as team-mates and to hear something like this has happened to a man who is a living legend like him is just awful.

“I’m checking the news all the time at the moment hoping we’re going to hear he is starting to improve. You always sort of imagine that Michael’s invincible, and I’m just hoping that we’ll maybe hear some good news soon.”

Burns teamed up with the most successful racer in F1 history for a handful of rounds of the IDM German Superbike Championship in 2009 when he joined the Holzhauer Honda team.