AN ASPIRING Flintshire motorcycle racer is recovering after a horrific crash that saw him hurtle into the tyre wall at a racetrack.

Maes Garmon pupil Osian Jones, 15, was racing at Oulton Park Circuit in Cheshire in the Junior Supersport category.

That race, contested by 14 to 16-year-olds on 400cc machines, was the highlight of the meeting on Saturday as it is so competitive.

But as six riders went for the same corner, Osian was sent down the run off into the tyre wall.

He was knocked unconscious for five minutes and was treated by the onsite medical team until he could be airlifted to Alder Hey Hospital.

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Osian Jones

Mum Beth described the moment she saw him.

"Your heart drops," she said. "That's all I can say, your heart starts pounding and you think 'oh my god'."

"They do a very dangerous sport but you can't think about it all the time because you'd be a nervous wreck. We talk to other parents and you have that thing where you think 'oh, it's not mine', which sounds awful. But when it is yours, the minute of panic is just 'oh my god'.

"On first seeing him, it was horrid. But by the time he'd got to Alder Hey he was speaking and had started to recover.

"It's proper scary. He'd just had a new helmet. We've always had the top helmets, proper racing ones, but the doctor at Alder Hey said his helmet saved them. They've got to wear the right kit.

"He was just really unlucky really that the run off was so short and he hit the tyre wall."

Beth, of Rhydymwyn, said the sport was very competitive.

She added: "It's become the race of the day because they are just so determined to win. Osian had a coming together with another rider. Six of them were coming in for the same corner, four of them crashed and Osian and another lad came off worse.

"He was unconscious for about five minutes.

"The medical team there were absolutely brilliant, you couldn't fault them. His head was held for the whole time until the air ambulance came. They were brill.

"He was airlifted to Alder Hey with concussion and he's still recovering. He was released that day. He's still a bit groggy and has a few headaches, but from what we saw on Saturday, he's much better.

"He couldn't stay awake the next day, he'd been really bashed about, but he was saying he wants to race again.

"But the after effects are still there. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean its not there. That's why we're not pushing him to go back to school.

Osian and his older brother Dan, 19, have been interested in bikes and racing since they were young.

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Osian's brother Dan

Dan has raced in Europe and Osian would be racing at Donnington at the weekend, but he has been advised to rest for four to six weeks.

Beth said: "Osian has been riding since he was about eight. He started on mini motos and he's gone up to the bigger classes.

"He was in the race and the class he's in they're all 15, 16, 17, and they all want to win basically. It's very close and competitive, they take no prisoners, let's put it that way.

"Funnily enough, he was like 'do I have to go back to school. What's it going to do for me, I want to be a motorbike racer'. So it hasn't put him off.

"We still stress on them, you must do well in school. We don't look at it as a career in a lot of ways, but if it does happen for them great."