Adam McLean on the Binch Racing Yamaha

Adam McLean underwent a successful operation at the Royal Victoria Hospital last Thursday after breaking his right arm in a crash at the final round of the National Superstock 600 Championship at Brands Hatch.

It was the same arm that McLean broke at the Tandragee 100 in May 2019 following a crash in the Supertwin race, which ruled him out for the whole season.

The Tobermore man only made his competitive return in July after a 14-month lay-off, with McLean easing himself back into the swing of things with a test at Oulton Park.

He did a deal for 2020 to contest the National Superstock 600 Championship with the Binch Racing team to ride a Yamaha R6.

McLean previously rode for Mansfield-based David Binch’s team at the Classic TT in 2018, when he finished as the runner-up in the Lightweight race on a Yamaha TZ250 behind Lee Johnston.

The Ulster Grand Prix winner was eager to use the extra track time at the British short circuit events to compliment his road racing exploits this year, but the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the calendar and the Cookstown 100 in September the only Irish road race to go ahead in 2020.

It proved a successful return to the roads scene for McLean, who doubled up in the Supersport and Supertwin races for the locally based McAdoo Racing team at the 2.1-mile Orritor course in Co Tyrone.

However, the 24-year-old suffered a fresh injury setback at the final round of the Superstock 600 championship at Brands Hatch in Kent just over a week ago, when McLean was caught out by the wet conditions in qualifying.

“It was my right arm that I broke the last time and I went to King’s College in London first but they didn’t want to do anything with it and said I should go home to the surgeon who worked on the arm previously, so I got in touch with him,” said McLean, who underwent surgery on Thursday at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

“It’s been a short return so it’s disappointing for sure but we’ve got a few months now when there’s nothing happening and I can just concentrate on the healing process. It’s just something that will take a bit of time.”

Reflecting on his crash, McLean said he was simply ‘caught off-guard’ by the tricky conditions at the Kent circuit.

“It was wet on the Saturday morning in the qualifying session and I came out of Druids in second gear,” he said.

“I was fairly well out of the corner when it spat me over the handlebars unexpectedly, but it was only my second lap and it wasn’t as if I was pressing on.

“I just got caught off guard in the wet conditions and I knew as soon as I went down that I had done my arm. I got to the medical centre and spent the night at King’s College and then they let me out,” added McLean.

“Darryl Tweed had come over to watch me so he was able to drive the van home. It was a bit comical because he was driving with a broken leg and I’m sitting on the other side with a broken arm.

“Everything was going well but it is what it is and we just have to deal with it.”