McGee back home and looking forward to getting back on track

Derek McGee is back at home in Mullingar this week and looking forward to meeting supporters at an event at McCormack’s in Castlepollard on Saturday. The Westmeath Examiner caught up with him to find out how he’s recovering after an injury at an IRRC Supersport race in the Netherlands, where he is now based, in mid-May.

“I have a bit of a road to recovery now ahead of me,” said Derek. “The arm has improved quite a bit in the last two weeks, this injury is not really a fast recovery, it’s one of the more difficult ones in the arm to heal.

“But I was in with the doctors again on Wednesday, so thankfully I don’t need an operation – it’s a difficult break, but they’re fairly optimistic that it’ll be just as good without an operation, so we decided to go that way, and see how that works out.”

The damage to Derek’s humerus bone is significant, but he still manages to find the good news; the fall broke the head of the bone, where it joins the shoulder, but he described it as “like a shark bite”, which means the broken parts settled in place, and are expected to heal well.

He said it is a not uncommon break for bike racers, “but mine, luckily enough, all seems to have stayed in the correct position, so, fingers crossed…”

He is due to start physio next week and can move the arm to a degree already.

It’s not clear yet what the injury means for the rest of the season, as the main danger of returning too soon would be another fall on the same part of the body.

He had made a strong start on the weekend the crash happened, and had won his race on the Saturday evening. He was leading with two laps to go in the Sunday morning race, and had broken the lap record, when he hit oil where two other riders had crashed just seconds previously. Then in the second Supersport race he was in third, when a rider in front high-sided “and his bike wiped me out as well, it was just unlucky, there was nothing I could do to avoid his bike”.

Derek was home for his son’s First Communion last weekend, and he is hoping his race bike will be repaired and on display next Saturday, June 7, at McCormack’s, Castlepollard. The event starts at 3pm and is a fundraiser for Derek and the Injured Biker Fund. The earlier part of the event is a family fun day, and there will be face-painting, a bouncy castle and other fun for younger visitors, plus live music, a BBQ, merchandise stall and auction and more.

Derek said: “I’ll be there during the day, and it would be great to see a nice turnout, and I really appreciate the support.”