Ryan Farquhar has not decided whether to race again

"I haven't made up my mind. I have other priorities now and I'll be taking a long, hard look at things before deciding what I do in the future.

"This accident brought it home to me that you don't have to make a mistake for something to go wrong.

"I'll play it by ear but I'm not in much form for getting on a bike now."

"That might change in a couple of weeks or a couple of months but if I do decide to go out again, it will not be for three or four months at least.

"I have had a chat with Philip Neill of TAS Suzuki and he says that if I want to leave it until next year then the bikes will be there for me, so I will play it by ear and see how I feel."

Farquhar was looking forward to chasing that elusive international Superbike success in 2006.

"A big bike win at the North West, the TT or the Ulster Grand Prix was my aim this season and I was looking forward to a good year with a top team and great bikes.

"As it turned out, I just got one lap of practice before a rider who was touring moved across and I had nowhere to go so I clipped the back of him and went into a hedge.

I thought this was going to be my year but it turns out that it wasn't meant to be Ryan Farquhar

"I have had my left arm plated from the shoulder to the elbow, a couple of broken vertebrae in my neck, possibly a cracked rib and I'm a bit battered and bruised but it could have been worse.

"I am told that I was close to a telegraph pole and if I had hit that, it would have been a lot worse. Also I believe the hedge I went into had a lot of barbed wire in it."

Farquhar is now a full-time motorcycle racer and had shed pounds over the winter to get in the best possible shape for this season.

"I trained hard all winter to get into good shape and I was pleased with the bikes in testing.

"I thought this was going to be my year but it turns out that it wasn't meant to be.

"I love road racing but I have been fortunate up to now. If I do come back, I will make up my own mind about which circuits are safe to ride at and which are not.

"I definitely won't be riding at all the races I have been riding at," said the Dungannon ace.