Image: Russell Colvin.

Victorian Jed Metcher returned to riding at Broadford last Sunday following a three-month layoff with a broken leg sustained in a practice incident at the same venue.

Metcher broke his left fibula and foot in five places over four metatarsals, including an injury called the Lisfranc, in March during a disastrous multi-bike accident.

The 24-year old Victorian rider completed seven laps in mixed conditions, reunited with the Race Center/Batteries North RC-10 Kawasaki ZX-10R.

Along with Metcher testing his fitness, it was also a chance to test a cam timing and fuel mapping combination that helped the power delivery overall.

“With 14 weeks off with rest and rehabilitation, I feel a lot stronger,” Metcher told CycleOnline. “I feel that my left leg is now at around 70 percent strength and I’m very pleased with my current fitness level after riding the bike today.

“Unfortunately the weather was unkind to us meaning we could only complete a handful of laps in average conditions. I’ll keep training hard to get my strength back. I’d like to thank Darren Sciberras, Mal Metcher, Rob Jenner, Dean Von Schill, Ben Meade, Henry Rankine and all my supporters for the assistance during my time injured.”

“After seeing Jed in the medical centre after the crash and then yesterday, we are amazed to see Jed not only back on the Batteries North RC-10 but just how fit he is,” said team manager Darren Sciberras.

“This was a very important shakedown test for us. It is an inspiration to us all and also a clear indication as to how serious we are about our WSBK project. It’s a shame about the weather as we couldn’t test for a ‘proper’ set up or push for lap times, but it was still a positive day for Jed and the team.”

Metcher will take part in the final round of the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) on 19-20 July at Phillip Island, using the round as a testing opportunity to gain more data towards their WSBK program.

In the meantime the Race Center/Batteries North RC-10 team will conduct another test this coming Friday at either Broadford or Winton, depending on weather.