Mark Fincham's Fatal Crash @ Thruxton 2017
- 5 months ago
A former Royal Marine, Mark Fincham, 37, lost his life as a result of a horrific two-machine motorcycle accident, during the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship Race held at Thruxton, around 13h30 on Sunday, 06 August 2017.
Mark Fincham was riding for team True Heroes Racing which was founded in 2012 by Phil Spencer, a Royal Navy Warrant officer, and was designed to give wounded service personnel the opportunity to be involved in competitive motorcycle racing. "Finchy", as he was nicknamed by friends, was racing despite having his lower left leg amputated afer a catastrophic road accident in 2007, when he was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. Refusing to allow his injury to change his life, within a matter of weeks Mark was walking again. He went on to join the Royal Marines, planning to combine working for the family engineering business with a busy programme of motorcycle racing with the True Heroes Racing. He started in the rookie class riding a Kawasaki ZX10R 1000 sports bike, before progressing through the ranks.
Starting from the 12th row of the grid, Mark Fincham was gaining ground during the Thruxton race, when he lost control of his BMW S1000 #903 going through the Club Chicane of the fast Hampshire circuit. He high-sided over the top of his falling bike, and slammed down heavily right in front of an oncoming rider, his True Heroes Racing team mate Jim Walker #90 who followed so closely that he had nowhere to go, hitting the stricken rider.
Mark Fincham sustained serious injuries in the accident. He was treated trackside by the BSB Medical Team before being transferred to the circuit medical centre. During that treatment, he succumbed to his injuries. Jim Walker was uninjured.
After the tragedy, the race was immediately stopped. It was a support race to the Thruxton round of the MCE British Superbike Championship.
R.I.P
Mark Fincham was riding for team True Heroes Racing which was founded in 2012 by Phil Spencer, a Royal Navy Warrant officer, and was designed to give wounded service personnel the opportunity to be involved in competitive motorcycle racing. "Finchy", as he was nicknamed by friends, was racing despite having his lower left leg amputated afer a catastrophic road accident in 2007, when he was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. Refusing to allow his injury to change his life, within a matter of weeks Mark was walking again. He went on to join the Royal Marines, planning to combine working for the family engineering business with a busy programme of motorcycle racing with the True Heroes Racing. He started in the rookie class riding a Kawasaki ZX10R 1000 sports bike, before progressing through the ranks.
Starting from the 12th row of the grid, Mark Fincham was gaining ground during the Thruxton race, when he lost control of his BMW S1000 #903 going through the Club Chicane of the fast Hampshire circuit. He high-sided over the top of his falling bike, and slammed down heavily right in front of an oncoming rider, his True Heroes Racing team mate Jim Walker #90 who followed so closely that he had nowhere to go, hitting the stricken rider.
Mark Fincham sustained serious injuries in the accident. He was treated trackside by the BSB Medical Team before being transferred to the circuit medical centre. During that treatment, he succumbed to his injuries. Jim Walker was uninjured.
After the tragedy, the race was immediately stopped. It was a support race to the Thruxton round of the MCE British Superbike Championship.
R.I.P