Glenn Harrison on his way to ninth place in the 2015 Senior MGP

In a year that promised so much for the pair, it largely fell apart when Nathan, the youngest of the two at 16, suffered serious injuries in a crash at Jurby last spring.

Glenn Harrison on his way to ninth place in the 2015 Senior MGP

He had enjoyed a fantastic time during pre-season testing in Spain and had had been offered a ride with a British championship team. In his father Dean’s words, Nathan was in a great place.

But the short circuit season soon became one to forget when the teenager suffered multiple polytrauma consisting of a broken back, two broken collarbones, two broken femurs, two broken lower legs, a compound leg fracture, smashed ankle and compartment syndrome in a first-lap incident at Jurby.

‘Nine months later and having undergone 40-plus hours of operations he is still recovering,’ said Dean. ‘Thanks to all the help we have received during this period and are continuing to do so, he will hopefully get back to some sort of fitness in 2016.

‘At just 17 years of age he has been through the mill, but is determined more than ever to get back on and race his bike.’

Dean and wife Jane cannot thank everyone who has helped enough. ‘There is a whole range of individuals who have, in one way or another, helped enormously since the accident,’ continues Dean. ‘They include the limb reconstruction and spinal teams at Liverpool Royal and Broadgreen Hospital for their continued expertise in fixing Nathan.

‘It is amazing how people came together, from when we arrived at Noble’s and the quick decisions made to transport him to Liverpool because of the extent of injuries he sustained, along with the local district nurses who have called weekly to change dressings to prevent infection.

‘Anyone who might experience what we did 10 months ago, and the service level once we arrived at Noble’s Hospital, would agree that we do actually have a fantastic health service system. Trust me it does work, the care Nathan has had I do not think could be bettered.’

In addition to thanking the various medics and the health services, Dean would especially like to mention Brian Convery and the staff at IoM Steam Packet Company; Steven Gurney, Nathan’s brother Glenn and the team at Quayside Tyres and Service Centre; plus customers and corporate customers for being so understanding due to the time we were away.

‘We also need to publically thank our family, friends and neighbours, not forgetting everyone that made the trip over to Liverpool to visit Nathan, even if he can’t remember. Thank you all, and we apologise for those we have missed out, so much has happened.’

If everything goes well for Nathan physically in the coming months, he is hoping to get back to work and continue his vehicle technician apprenticeship then hopefully get some track time in the UK sometime during the latter part of the season. He will almost certainly require a gear change set-up similar to Ian Hutchinson’s because of the severity of the leg and foot injuries.

Meantime, Nathan’s elder brother Glenn put much of his own racing season on hold to help with the family business, but he did manage to contest the Manx Grand Prix.

Once again supported by Chris Preston, he produced personal best average lap speed of more than 117mph in the Senior to finish ninth in the fastest MGP in history.

He did it on the bike normally ridden by his brother, which he switched to late after his own 600 Suzuki developed a fault less than three miles into the Junior a couple of days earlier. Prior to the race, Glenn had only completed two laps of practice on the machine.

Glenn again hopes to contest Manx Grand Prix this year, along with the Wirral 100 championships, some Thundersport GB meetings, the Post-TT and Southern 100 meetings.