Yorkshire motorcyclist's tribute to medics after 254mph crash during land speed record bid

Becci Ellis, 49, was thrown from her turbo-charged Suzuki Hayabusa after being hit by strong winds while trying to break her own 264mph land speed at Elvington Airfield near York last August.

Spectators watched on in horror as the mum-of-two veered from the airstrip before coming off the bike, breaking her ankle and sustaining severe bruising and whiplash.

After an eight-hour hospital stay, she was trackside at Elvington again the following day to watch other competitors and to help raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which rushed her to hospital in Leeds following the crash.

“I had just gone through the speed gate at 254mph when the wind caught me and in less than a second the bike had gone onto the grass,” Becci, an IT analyst from Scunthorpe, said.

“I don’t remember coming off or hitting the ground, but I landed on my front sliding for about 70 yards and blacked out briefly.”

She has since visited Yorkshire Air Ambulance medics at their Nostell Priory base near Wakefield to pay thanks to them. Becci added: “The day after my accident we raised £500. The paramedics and pilots are just fantastic.”

The keen motorcyclist set her world record of 264mph in October 2014 at Elvington Airfield, beating the previous title holder by more than 20mph.

The petrolhead is even considering returning to the bike in August to make a further attempt at breaking her record.

“I’m having another couple of test and tune days next month and if weather conditions are perfect we aim to get as close to 270mph as possible,” she said.

“But it is totally down to me, I’m not going to put my life at risk for this, it’s not worth it, and I have nothing to prove.”

For more on the Yorkshire Air Ambulance visit yorkshireairambulance.org.uk.