Plater is an eight-time winner at the North West 200

Woodhall Spa's Steve Plater will have surgery on Friday after breaking his arm in a crash at the North West 200.

Plater, 41, suffered the injury when he came off his HM Plant Honda at Quarry Hill in Thursday's superbike qualifying session on the 8.97-mile road course.

He will have plates inserted to rejoin the broken bones in his lower left arm.

Team manager Harvey Beltran told BBC Lincolnshire: "We feel for Steve and we'll look to see how he recovers as to when he gets back on a bike again."

Plater had earlier qualified in pole position for the Superbike races.

He will now miss his home round of the British Superstock Championship, in which he leads the standings after three rounds, at Cadwell Park on May 23 and his participation in the 2010 Isle of Man TT is also in doubt.

Beltran said of the crash: "Coming through Juniper bend and up Quarry Hill the front end tucked under and Steve slid off.

"Thankfully the air fence was there. We have to praise Mervyn Whyte and the team at the North West 200 for the safety areas which they have improved with air fencing and bales, they broke his fall and saved Steve a lot more serious injuries."

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