Race ace suffers horror crash

Jack Barlow manages to raise a smile from his hospital bed following a frightening crash at Thruxton

The 18-year-old Jamun Racing driver’s EcoBoost Mygale left the road during testing at one of the Hampshire track’s fastest corners, dug into the soft ground and rolled.

As it came to rest, Barlow was trapped upside down in the car for several agonising minutes. The impact had also ripped the visor from his crash helmet, leaving it full of earth.

When they got to him, the rescue team had to gently turn the wreckage over, allowing Pett-based former Rye College student Barlow to undo his seatbelts and climb out.

Despite being conscious throughout and showing no immediate cause for alarm - other than a cut on his leg - he was airlifted to nearby Southampton General Hospital. Scans revealed that he had cracked a vertebra in his back.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Barlow said: “I’ve got to see a spinal consultant and stay here until Friday. The early indications are that I’ve got a good chance of being on the grid at Donington, for the second round of the (Dunlop MSA Formula Ford) Championship.

“I’d like to thank the paramedics who looked after me immediately after my accident and the air ambulance crew, who were brilliant also. The trauma team here at Southampton General have really looked after me and say that I was very, very lucky.”

With the car he took to a superb third place on his Formula Ford Championship debut at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago needing to be substantially repaired, Barlow turned his concerns away from himself and towards his mechanics at Jamun.

He added: “I’m gutted for the guys and feel really bad about the car. I’ve pretty much torn all four corners off it, but I know they’ll do a terrific job of getting it ready for Donington. All I want to do is get back in it, but we’ll just have to wait and see what the medical experts say first.”