VETERAN Zimbabwean motor racing driver and biker Phil "Archie" Archenoul is recovering in a Harare hospital after he injured his ribs and punctured a lung during Sunday's Toyota Enduro race meeting at Donnybrook.
Archenoul and fellow top biker Shaun Whyte were taking part in the superbikes section and they both came off their bikes after they collided, resulting in the two riders getting injured and were rushed to hospital. Whyte is now out of danger and out of hospital but Archenoul is still admitted and his condition is reported to be stable.
Sunday's race meeting saw the father and son "tag team" of Jamie and Rowan Whyte winning the 70-lap enduro ahead of Eric Heard. Jamie Whyte is a two-time African motor rally champion, winning back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010 with Archenoul as his co-driver before he (Jamie Whyte) retired from the sport a couple of years ago while the latter switched to superbikes and is a regular feature at Donnybrook, competing either in main circuit racing or in drag racing.
And on Sunday, Archenoul, who is well in his late 50s, was back at the popular motor racing venue in Harare, competing in the Toyota Enduro race meeting where he was tussling with Shaun Whyte in the superbikes section.
Speaking to The Herald yesterday, Shaun Whyte described Sunday's incident as an unfortunate one but he quickly added that it was part of the sport.
"It was during yesterday's (Sunday's) first superbike race in which Phil was behind me in the last lap and all of a sudden we collided and I was off-line and went seven to eight metres in the air. I had injuries on my shoulders and the back as well as a swollen knee.
"I am recovering and it is something you can expect in the sport. As for Phil, he had seven broken ribs and punctured a lung and is admitted at Michael Gelfand Hospital. I talked to him and he is recovering and it is no longer as bad as we had anticipated.
"It was an unfortunate event but it happens in the sport," Shaun Whyte said.
Apart from this incident, Sunday's enduro race meeting was well attended by both competitors and spectators; and some awesome racing by all drivers and riders was witnessed. Enduro is a race designed to test both the durability of the racing car and endurance of the driver or drivers over one-and-a-half hours (90 minutes).
