Elliott an inspiration for all

After a freak accident in April this year, the motorcycling career of Elliott seemed to be all but over, having come out of the incident with no feeling from his chest down.

But after hearing news of an American rider who successfully modified his bike in order to compete, Elliott knew that there was only one thing to do.

"I saw an article about a guy in America who rides and I was straight onto it," he said.

"Back in April I had the accident and now I can't feel anything from below my chest down - the injuries seem to be permanent at this stage.

"But within a month or so of getting out of rehab we got the parts that I'd need to ride again and I'm pretty excited because the racing went well."

Elliott had won all of his races in the championship leading up to the accident, and while he hoped it would be enough to win him the title, he was happy to get back on the bike and continue his inner road to recovery.

"Winning the title was the plan up until the point of the accident - I had won every moto in the class and was pretty confident that I could do it.

"It was always going to depend on how everyone else went, and by being able to ride again on the weekend, it has helped me in a number of ways.

"I'm just really excited and happy that I won!"

Elliott's bike has undergone significant change in order to enable him to ride, and the approval from Motorcycling Australia Northern Territory had to be given before he could take to the track.

"I've basically got bars that hold my legs onto the bike and protect them.

"I have put in an automatic clutch which basically stops me from stalling, and have connected two brakes to the one hand lever."

So where to from here for Elliott?

"My speed wouldn't be good enough to compete in the Australian Motocross Championships," he admitted.

"But I will certainly keep competing in this event and there are a few other events I enjoy doing each year, so it will be good to keep racing and who knows!"

(Pic shows how the Northern Territory News covered the story - see this link: http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2007/11/09/2555_ntnews.html)