Jesus. I've covered motorsport for years, but what happened at Oulton Park today left me genuinely shaken. The kind of crash that makes you question why we love this sport so damn much.

Teh British Superbikes Championship opening round came to a dramatic halt this afternoon after what I can only describe as absolute mayhem in the Supersport Feature support race. Eleven bikes—ELEVEN!—ended up in a catastrophic pile-up that honestly looked like something from a disaster movie rather than a professional race.

How the hell did it happen?

I was standing near turn one when it all went down. Coming out of the first corner, one of the riders (whose name I'm not mentioning until family notifications happen) clipped the kerb and lost it completely. Poor guy went sliding across the track surface like a hockey puck.

That would've been bad enough.

But then he collected another rider who had zero chance of avoiding him. And then... well, physics took over in the worst possible way. The domino effect was horrifying to witness in real time. One rider actually got launched airborne—I swear he was at least six feet up.

One of the bikes burst into flames. Track marshals were sprinting before the last bike had even stopped moving.

The aftermath (and why I missed my deadline)

Medical teams swarmed the track immediately. I counted at least seven ambulance staff within seconds. My editor was texting me non-stop for updates, but honestly, watching the medics work was more important than filing copy. Some things transcend deadlines.

The official statement from the British Superbike Championship came through on my phone around 30 minutes later:

"At the start of the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship race at Oulton Park, exiting turn one there was a major chain reaction incident involving 11 riders. The race was immediately stopped and medical services attended. Due to the extent of the incident and following medical interventions it will not be possible to continue the event and therefore the event is cancelled. MSVR will issue a further statement in due course."

That clinical language doesn't capture what it felt like to be there.

When racing becomes secondary

I've been covering these events since 2018, and you develop a sort of emotional callus about crashes. They happen. But this one... different story entirely.

The decision to abandon the entire event speaks volumes. Race officials don't make that call lightly—there's about £250K of commercial considerations at stake with sponsors, TV rights, and ticket refunds.

A photographer I know who was positioned at turn one hasn't answered my calls. Hope he's just busy processing what he saw rather than anything worse.

What comes next?

The MSVR (MotorSport Vision Racing) has promised further updates. I'll be refreshing my inbox obsessively for the next few hours.

This is still developing, obviously. The paddock is a mixture of shock and that strange quiet that follows something truly serious. Mechanics are packing up in silence. Riders from other classes are huddled in small groups.

Racing is beautiful and terrifying, like dancing on the edge of disaster. Today, several riders fell off that edge.

I'll update this piece when we know more about the conditions of those involved. For now, the motorsport community is doing what it always does after moments like this—holding its collective breath and hoping for the best possible news.