Johnny Garness, a chilling story: after the terrible 2023 crash, he returns to racing!

Emotion for Johnny Garness: three years after the very serious accident at Estoril, the young Briton is returning to compete. See you at the FIM MotoJunior.

In 2023 the Briton Johnny Garness was 14 years old, had just won the British Talent Cup and had thus earned access to the ETC of the JuniorGP (now MotoJunior). Instead, he was involved in a very serious accident with an injury that sparked the worst fears during a test at Estoril, the venue of the opening event. More than three years later he is preparing to return to action in that same championship, at the round on the weekend of September 6 in Valencia, and still with MLav Racing’s junior team, now GRYD Racing. It will be an enormous emotion for both the rider and the team after such a long and difficult recovery journey, but there’s a happy ending.

Through his team, Michael Laverty had created a pathway to bring young British talents from the domestic Honda one-make series to what was then the FIM JuniorGP, the championship that leads to the World Championship. One of the four riders to be fielded in 2023 was precisely Johnny Garness, who had won the British Talent Cup in 2022 and had rightfully earned a place to debut in the European Talent Cup. Born in 2008, he was considered one of the most promising profiles in British motorcycling with a view to MotoGP... Until that terrifying accident in April 2023: as later communicated by the team itself, during a fast lap the very young rider crashed heavily and was struck by another rider while he was on the ground. As mentioned, the worst was feared... Immediately assisted and transferred to a hospital near Lisbon, Garness suffered a skull fracture with a brain hemorrhage.

In May the rider left Portugal and returned to Great Britain, to a facility in Bristol to continue the recovery process. The family later confirmed that further examinations also showed issues with the C1 and C2 vertebrae (the neck area) and an initial peripheral paralysis on the right side of the face due to nerve damage. Fortunately, over time the situation improved, but it required a long and delicate neurological and physical rehabilitation process. That, however, is in the past, left behind by the official note from the British team: "We are pleased to announce that Johnny Garness will return to racing in Valencia, more than three years after the serious injury that forced him to leave the sport. His return marks a significant moment for both Johnny and GRYD Racing. When Johnny was forced to step away from racing in 2023, the team made him a promise: when he felt ready to return, there would be a bike waiting for him." Said and done.

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