Training injury sidelines Jonathan Venter for rest of 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
Craft-Bamboo Racing driver, Jonathan Venter, has been injured during a cycling training session last Tuesday afternoon (August 18th), resulting in a dislocated and fractured right hip. The injury will likely rule Jonathan out for the rest of 2015 and prevent him from continuing his challenge in the GT Asia Series where he is now tied for the drivers’ championship lead with teammate, Darryl O’Young.
During a training session for the upcoming GT Asia Series race in Sepang, Venter and his training partner were travelling down a hill at over 50 km/h when he lost control of the rear around a wide right hander, resulting with him hitting the kerb and taking the brunt of the fall.
Even when faced with the tough situation, the irony wasn’t lost on Venter, saying, “The first thing I thought lying on the road in pain after the fall was how ironic this incident is. After 15 years of racing kart and cars, with no serious injuries even close to this, I manage to fracture and dislocate my hip cycling whilst training for the next race.”
Venter was transported to the nearest ER at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney’s East. After an X-ray, CT and ultrasound scans it was determined that Venter had no internal, spinal or neck injuries and only sustained light grazing to one leg and his back.
Given time in hospital to reflect on his unfortunate position, Venter said, “This whole situation is a massive shock to me and trying to digest that this season is over after such a strong performance has been hard.”
Venter will undergo surgery today (Monday) to clean his hip joint and insert plates into the area and will be expertly looked after by the team at St Vincent’s.
Still focused on the championship and his team after the incident, Venter said, “I really feel for both the team and Darryl as we have come so far this year and become a real family, competing at our best this whole season. To have finally reached the top positon in the championship gave us all a great boost of confidence and motivation. My training and focus became much more intense and I was determined to give the rest of the season my best shot. Lying in hospital now brings up a lot of ‘what if’ questions and it’s been hard trying to re-focus on the road to recovery.”
Venter is looking at a lengthy recovery time and it's unlikely he'll be back in a GT3 car this year. For now however, everyone is focused on his overall wellbeing and recovery post-operation. “It’s important now to look ahead and use this time wisely to come back stronger and more focused than ever. I cannot wait to return back behind the wheel of a GT3 car. I would also like to thank everyone at the St Vincent’s Hospital for the care they have provided me with and also a big thank you to all of my fans and friends who have reached out and supported me during this difficult time,” the young driver said.
“I want to wish my teammate, Darryl O’Young, the best of luck for the remainder of the season and I also want to thank the entire team at Craft-Bamboo Racing, especially Frank Yu and Richard Coleman for giving me this fantastic opportunity. To my race engineer, Nic Clipson, the mechanics and all the others who have made my challenge possible this year,” said Jonathan.
