"My wedding was set for early September and fifteen days later I was supposed to be in Sweden for the World Championship. I had no intention of going to the altar with a leg cast and I had to get some training in before the championship. So what did I do?"

It was 1982, the Luxembourg round of the European Championship at the Mondercange circuit.
There were five or six laps to go and I was in second place, chasing after the leader’s Birel- Komet kart. Theoretically, closing second was a good prospect in terms of championship points;
but there was just no way I was going to settle for being second best...
So, at one point, I pounced ahead to overtake, but my rival closed in, we made contact, and I capsized.
After I hit the ground I was passed out for I don’t remember how long; all I know is that when I came to, I was on an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
When we got there, the doctors told me my leg was broken and I was going to have to wear a cast for six weeks.
This meant I’d …