David Salom has returned to riding less than a week after the heavy accident which saw him hospitalised and ruled out of the season-opening WorldSBK event in Australia. The Team Pedercini Kawasaki rider suffered concussion and an injured finger when he crashed in Superpole 2, but has already returned to riding a motorcycle in his native Spain.

On Thursday and Friday, Salom took to the Calafat circuit near Tarragona, looking to readapt to riding as quickly as possible. Shortly afterwards, he caught up with WorldSBK.com.

“We did all of the possible tests we could to make sure there were no ill effects,” Salom explained of his riding in Spain. “The doctors won’t need to be doing any surgery. Yes, my whole body is still in pain, but I was on the bike on Thursday and Friday.

“Regarding the finger injury…because I have had similar injuries there in the past, I’m genuinely not sure whether this fracture was from this crash or a previous one. The main thing is to make sure I am feeling well, that I don’t need to undergo any surgery and that I feel good when I climb aboard a bike. Yes, there are bound to be some niggling things, but the aim is to get to Thailand in three weeks’ time feeling 100%.”

Salom went on to sum up that the past week has been a somewhat dramatic one.

“I was dispatched from hospital at three in the morning, slept in the house we had just next to the circuit, and by 8am I was back at the circuit for a medical check to be able to gain permission to take part in the Sunday Warm-Up,” he recalls. “That wasn’t possible and I had to accept the decision they took because, at the end of the day, my health is at play here. If I had gone out there, crashed again and taken another blow to the head, that could have been something even more dangerous.

“Despite the crash, I must admit that I left Phillip Island feeling pleased. Watching the two races, I could see that the rhythm certain other riders were managing would have been the same I could have done, based on what had happened in practice. I have never been able to say this before, but I think I could have been in the top five and maybe even contending for a podium in one of the races. So why not in Thailand? It’s a new circuit that nobody knows…”

The answer to Salom’s question will be known on Sunday 22 March, as the eni FIM Superbike World Championship races in Thailand for the first time. Round 2 will be staged at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram.