One of Australia’s foremost motorcycle stunt riders, Matt Mingay, is recovering are being injured in a horrifying crash in a Stadium Super Trucks race in Detroit at the weekend.
Wife Sheena and son Maddox have released a statement thanking the Detroit Grand Prix and Detroit Receiving Hospital medical staff for their fast actions, saving Matt’s life and their ongoing care.
“There are no words that could express how appreciative we are so thank you,” they said.
Matt remains in the hospital ICU in a serious, but stable, condition.
Surgeons performed more than five hours of surgery to insert a prosthetic chin and to rebuild his jaw and mouth.
“He has been responding well to treatment and will no doubt be counting down the days days until he’s back on the track and wowing fans again,” the statement said.
“He has some of America’s finest surgeons working around the clock giving him the best possible care, although they can’t get over how many tattoos this crazy Australian stunt man has.”
The roof of his truck was pealed off in the horrific crash in the early laps of the race on Saturday. Most of the injuries to Matt were facial including losing his bottom row of teeth.
We caught up with Matt, who is an ambassador for Harley-Davidson, at the recent Roadster launch in Canberra where the effervescent and irreverent rider took the opportunity to show off for the cameras with a wheelie past Parliament House.
Harley-Davidson Australia media guru David Turney says the crash came as terrible news.
“Thankfully – while serious – we’re informed that delicate surgery performed soon after the incident has been successful, though Matt does face some recovery,” he says.
“As an ambassador and friend of Harley-Davidson, we wish him all the best as he starts on the road to recovery and of course our thoughts are with Sheena and Maddox during this time.”
If you’d like to post your best wishes for Matt’s speedy recovery, please go to his Facebook page.
Let’s hope Matt’s cheeky grin is back in place soon.
- It was a particularly sad weekend for racers: Sidecar driver Dwight Beare, 27, formerly of Melbourne, died in a crash in a TT race on Saturday and a few hours later British rider Paul Shoesmith, 50, died in solo practice. On Friday, Moto2 rider Luis Salom died in practice for the Catalunya Grand Prix.