British Superbike star hurled through the air as rivals swerve to avoid fatality

British Superbike star Andrew Irwin was hurled through the air after being thrown off his bike at Brands Hatch on Sunday. His rivals were forced to swerve round him to avoid a potentially fatal collision, before he seemingly walked away without any major injuries.

Irwin was in action at the Bennetts British Superbike Championship and was launched into the air after losing control of his bike on the eighth lap of Race 3. He landed on his side before skidding down the track as his bike bounced along the ground and into the fencing at the side. Incredibly, his fellow riders managed to avoid hitting him, with one of his rivals putting his hand out to warn other riders.

Race 3 proved to be an eventful affair, with Lee Jackson crashing at Clearways as a Safety Car was deployed early on. And with Danny Kent leading just before the halfway stage, Irwin was catapulted from his bike.

The commentary team on TNT Sport were stunned by the incident, with one exclaiming: "That is massive, that is massive. Riders doing well there to avoid [him].

"He's up on his feet, of course he is - he's Andy Irwin. He's some sort of superhero. That was horrendous, that crash."

And the other commentator said: "Big, big crash and you do worry when you're in the pack like that. And it's unsighted.

"You're right on the crest of a hill there so you come round that corner completely unsighted. And even if you have got three riders in front of the crash, you're concentrating on the rider immediately in front of you. So yeah, really lucky."

Kyle Ryde went on to win the race ahead of Kent and Scott Redding, with Redding then claiming the title of the rider of the round.

Irwin qualified for Sunday's first race in 11th place during Saturday's qualifying session, with his Honda team-mate Tommy Bridewell qualifying in sixth.

And at the end of the session, Irwin explained: "I felt good for three-quarters of the race, and we started to get closer to the group in front. Then I just ran into a couple of little problems the last few laps.

"But hopefully we can find a resolution for tomorrow and look forward to tomorrow's two races. It was a little bit all over everywhere with the weather before the start, but it was a dry race.

"I think my lap time was a tenth off my best in qualifying, and I'm pleased with my pace - so I think tomorrow we can go forward from there."