Peter Hickman and the Briggs Equipment BMW team have reluctantly been forced to withdraw from the forthcoming International North West 200 road races as a result of his injuries sustained in a crash at Oulton Park on Saturday.

Having sustained two broken ribs in the 150mph spill on the approach to Druids, the 27-year old has subsequently been diagnosed with two breaks of the C4 vertebrae in his neck meaning both he and the team will be unable to participate in the first International road race of the season, which gets underway on Tuesday 12th May.

The Louth-based rider enjoyed an excellent debut at the event 12 months ago, comfortably being the best performing newcomer and also recording the fastest ever lap by a circuit debutante and both he and the team are bitterly disappointed at being unable to return.

However, the nature of his injuries mean it simply isn’t possible to ride and the aim now is to be fully fit for the Isle of Man TT Races which commence on Saturday May 30th.

Lee Hardy, Team Owner: “It’s deeply disappointing for Peter and everyone connected with the team that we’ll be unable to take part in the North West 200 but his injuries from the crash on Saturday are a little bit worse than we first thought. Having had such a good debut 12 months ago, Peter was obviously really looking forward to returning so we’d like to apologise to Mervyn and his team, as well as all the thousands of race fans that we won’t be there in 2015.”

“The goal now is to support Peter as best as we can and ensure he gets the best possible medical support with the aim of being ready for the TT. He needs to get as much rest and recuperation as he can and the final decision will ultimately lie with his surgeon but we’re very hopeful of being ready for practice week at the Isle of Man. I'd also like to publicly thank the on-site medical team at Oulton Park for all their excellent treatment and support given to Peter after his accident.”

Mervyn Whyte, Event Director of the North West 200: “It’s obviously disappointing that Peter’s not able to come to the North West 200 this year but his health and well-being has to come first and no-one wants his injuries to develop into anything worse. With him being the best newcomer in 2014, we were all very much looking forward to him returning as I have no doubt he would have made an even bigger impression this time around. These things happen in racing though and he’s young enough to return to the event for many years to come so we’ll look forward to welcoming him back in 2016.”

Pictures by Tim Keeton – Impact Images Photography.  Peter and the Briggs Equipment BMW.