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Newsletter

2003 In Review

January 19th 8.00 AM and May 1st 11:15 AM

As 2003 has come to a close it is worth reviewing the two big events of the year in the Bell family, one good, one not so good. On January 19th James Jackson-Bell was born. Now twelve months old James already boasts the three qualities needed to become a motorcycle racer; a total lack of fear, superior hand-eye co-ordination and a doting father with an open wallet! He shows little fear around motorcycles and repeatedly tries to climb onto any bike within reach. When ridden around the Spectrum parking lot on a CRF50 by his mother he squealed with delight and complained when it was time to stop. There is a very good chance he could have his mother's "balls" (if such a thing were possible!)

Three months after James was born Vicky started riding again on a CR125. It was quite obvious she had lost nothing and was clearing everything on the Vet track at Elsinore within two visits. The first round of the Women's MX National was to be run with the AMA Outdoor MX National at Glen Helen and at my suggestion we went out to the Thursday practice at Glen Helen on May 1st the week prior to the race. After two sessions Vicky was getting around the track fine and making all the jumps but she decided she was not race fit or ready to compete, but decided to go out one more time. As she came over the table top just before the finish line former 125 World Champion Grant Langston came past at on her right hand side.

As they were both at the highest point halfway across the jump, Mr.Langston laid the bike on its side as he went past and hit Vicky's upper body knocking her arms and hands off the bars and tipping her off the bike. She landed on her left side dislocating and fracturing her left shoulder and displacing and fracturing her left hip. As you can see from the before and after x-rays the acetabular was fractured in over twenty places and the head of the femur is almost one inch above the right femur. The surgery to try and repair the factures took five hours and the second x-ray shows the nine screws and two plates that now hold the hip socket together.

This incident caused a big controversy in the MX community when I reported to Roadracing World what happened. In chat rooms and emails Vicky was called names accused of being a novice who got spooked and should not have been out on the track. Two unidentified e-mailers actually threatened Vicky's and my lives if we were to bring a lawsuit against Mr. Langston. I stay with what I saw that day, Mr. Langston did not cause the injury intentionally but he could have quite easily avoided it.

The severity of the injury meant Vicky was unable to walk for three months. She started to use crutches August 1st but the shoulder injury limited what she could do and a wheelchair was the best way to get around. Five months after the start of rehab she has a 20% range of motion moving the leg backwards and about 25% movement laterally. The doctor has said she will never regain a full range of motion but she tries each week to get a little more and visits the gym twice a week. The doctor told her she will not know the full extent of how much range of motion is lost for about two years..

Knowing my wife very well I knew that not being able to ride a dirt bike again would leave a big gap in her life. She has ridden dirt bikes and raced bikes since the age of nine. On December 1st I brought home a CRF250 and she rode it around the Vet track at Elsinore two days later. She has to stand on a bike stand to get on the bike and if it stalled when riding she would not be able to get it started so the idle has to be set quite high. She claims she is riding, "Not to fall off" and through the corners she is only at about 60% but is clearing all the jumps and tabletops. Although in pain she is doing what she loves especially when riding with our eldest son Christopher and we're looking forward to having James on a CRF50 with training wheels as soon as he's out of diapers!

Tony
VJB racing team

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