LONDONDERRY’S James Courtney was hospitalised after a freak accident during the latest round of the V8 Supercars Championship at the weekend.
The round ran over Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Sydney Motorsport Park.
Just before the first main session a Navy helicopter was hovering over the pit lane as part of a fly-over.
Walkinshaw Racing managing director Adrian Burgess said the Navy helicopter had probably come too close and created a draft and a bit of a swell, which caused a piece of debris to fly at Courtney.
Courtney put his hand up to protect his face as a natural reaction and the debris hit him in the ribs.
Courtney sufferd two fractured ribs and a collapsed lung.
The former champion was taken to the trackside medical centre and then transferred to Westmead Hospital via road ambulance at 2.30pm.
The news is a massive setback in Courtney’s quest for the championship title.
The 35-year-old sits fifth in the standings, 371 points behind the leader Mark Winterbottom and this accident denies James the opportunity to gain additional points.
He is also in doubt for the Sandown meeting.
Jack Perkins substituted for Courtney during the subsequent practice session and continued in the car as his replacement.
The Friday was taken up with practice sessions where the drivers and co-drivers became familiar with the track and set the cars up for the three races to come.
The first session was for the co-drivers to help them set up and also to do some miles in preparation for the endurance races that start at Sandown in the next few weeks.
The main session that day was for Courtney to fine tune the set up for the races to follow.
The racing continued with Race 1 won by Chaz Mostert (Ford), and Race 2 by Jamie Whincup (Holden), a longawaited return to form.
The main event on the Sunday was detrimentally affected by the weather, with rain early in the race causing a pit scramble to change wet tyres.
The winner on the day was Chaz Mostert, a great result for him and the team.
However James Courtney could only watch the race from his hospital bed.
Further Navy helicopter displays at the Sydney Motorsport Park Super Sprint were cancelled as a result of the freak incident.
