British Superbike champion Tarran Mackenzie says he’s ‘been through the wars’ this year – and that’s certainly one way to put it. 

With two crashes, the last of which occurred at 150mph, a dislocated shoulder and a pair of broken ankles – most people would be more dramatic. 

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But those people would be in the wrong sport.

Racing is in Mackenzie’s blood. With a three-time British Superbike champion for a father, he was able to run when most could barely walk. And that’s literally what he’s trying to do right now. 

Despite having two plates inserted in his left ankle earlier this month, Mackenzie is trying to get back on the bike little more than two weeks later.

The 26-year-old Scotsman told talkSPORT.com: “I’ve been through the wars a bit. I’ve had two injuries this year, but I’m getting there.

“I’d never really crashed my bike, but in January I crashed, dislocated my shoulder and broke my right ankle. 

“That was two months of recovery. I came back and had the biggest crash of my life: over 150mph – which broke my left ankle.

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“I just came off the Silverstone track and broke both sides of my ankle, so I’ve got two plates in there at the moment.

“If you’re into Formula One, you’ll probably remember Max Verstappen crashing at Turn 1 [in 2021], when Lewis put him in the barrier, that’s the corner after I crashed.

“I’ve got a race this weekend that I’m going to try and ride at. That probably won’t happen. I was told six weeks’ recovery and I’m two weeks in, so maybe I’m a bit ambitious.

“I’m still learning to use my foot and walk again.”

To the novice, motorcycle racing is terrifying. Its fatality rate is higher than most sports and Mackenzie is living proof of the potential for serious injury. 

Tackling corners just inches from the ground, traveling parallel to the surface at ridiculous speed – Mackenzie doesn’t even try to pretend it’s not scary. 

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“When you go at those speeds, you get a bit of adrenaline, you get in a zone, you’re not really thinking about the danger element of it,” he added. 

“When you do come off, you’ve still got adrenaline in your body, so you can’t really comprehend what’s just happened.

“It’s a scary sport at the end of the day and you can get hurt. That’s the part of racing you try and block out.

“You can never predict when you’re going to crash. You go race-by-race hoping you’ll be OK and don’t injure yourself.”

So why the urgency to get back on the track? Because time is of the essence.

Tipped to join the likes of Jonathan Rea and Lewis Hamilton in British motorsporting immortality, injury denied him of the chance to make a WorldSBK debut earlier this month – and delayed the start of his British title defence.

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This is a man who deals in high speed and he knows it’s time to up the pace.

Mackenzie is hoping to take the world stage by storm in his two wildcard events this season, before potentially moving on from the British Superbike Championship.

He added: “The world debut was a big thing for me this year so to miss that was quite annoying. Normally when I’m injured, I get by OK and I can get back on a bike pretty soon, but this one I’ve had to take a bit of time. I’m doing everything I can to get back sooner.

“I’d really like to [move to WorldSBK]. It’s a big step for what I’m doing at the moment. Being British Superbike Champion last year was a good box ticked, the natural progression is to do what I’m doing all over the world.

“I have a really good team and base in the UK so another year here won’t do any harm. I’ve not had the best start this year, getting injured twice, trying to push myself onto the world stage for next year.

“But there’s still plenty of time left and when I’m back fit, I’d love to push on and make that happen for 2023.”

His father, three-in-a-row champion Niall Mackenzie, will certainly be happy to see his son depart the domestic scene and leave his record unharmed.   

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“I’m not so motivated to try and be three-time British Superbike champion,” Mackenzie added. “If I don’t get to the world stage next year and I win again this year, then there would be good potential to match it at least.

“He [Niall] wants me to push onto the world stage more than anyone, so it’s probably to stop me getting his records! It’s a nice thing to happen in the family.

“People have won three championships, but never three-in-a-row like Dad has, so to match that would be pretty cool.”

Tarran’s brother, Taylor, was also a prominent motorcycle racer until his retirement in late 2021.

But despite the family’s inescapable racing background, a career on the track wasn’t always Mackenzie’s dream. 

He added: “It was never set in stone when we were kids, I always wanted to be a professional footballer like every kid! When that couldn’t happen, I turned to bikes.

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“Having a dad that’s been there and done it all, it’s easy to skip a few steps. A lot of parents have to go through being new to it.

“He definitely fast-tracked us through when we were younger, but it got to a stage when he’d done his bit and it was up to me.”

Rather than his own dad, Mackenzie will take aim at another one of his heroes when he eventually joins the global scene.

Six-time world champion and fellow Brit Rea is the most successful superbike rider in history, but was once a humble domestic competitor himself. 

“Rea is one of my big heroes,” Mackenzie continued. “He’s come through a similar route to what I’m on at the moment. 

“He’s been very dominant the last few years and I get to race him this year in July – which is really cool.

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“I’ve looked up to him for a very long time and he’s set the benchmark for British riders in the WorldSBK – and he’s still going. He’s in the form of his life at the moment.

“It will be hard to match Jonathan in the future but to be associated with his name will be amazing.

“Hamilton is probably the best and biggest British motorsport athlete of all-time. To have my name up there in the future would be amazing.”

When it comes to motorsport in the UK, it’s hardly controversial to suggest Hamilton’s name is more recognisable to the average sport fan than Rea’s. 

For a multitude of reasons, Formula One has blown up in recent years, while its sister sport remains relatively small in comparison. 

But Mackenzie hopes that will change moving forward. He said: “I’m a big fan of Drive to Survive. I think that’s really given people a behind-the-scenes insight into F1 rather than just watching the cars go around the track. 

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“If you’re not into motorsport, you don’t really know what’s going on. MotoGP have just brought out their series on Amazon Prime and that’s a very similar thing.

“A lot of my friends watch and support me because they’re friends and not because they’re into motorsport, but they’ve watched the series and now they’re into the sport.

“Bike racing isn’t the most popular sport in the UK, but in Spain and Italy, these guys are in the news every week. It’s definitely going in the right direction in the UK.”

Source: TalkSport.com Motorsport