Joonas rides away after horror crash

JOONAS KYLMAKORPI will never race again after surviving a life-threatening crash.

The Finnish star, who helped Wolverhampton win the Elite League title last season, has accepted his racing career is over.

He is still recovering from a freak crash four months ago that has left him needing a hip replacement.

The four-time World Long Track champion, who also won the league with Coventry on 2009, was convinced he would be back on track this summer.

But specialists have told him he could die if he suffers any more major impact injuries.

Kylmakorpi, 37, shattered his hip, broke his thigh and suffered severe internal bleeding, but kept the seriousness of his injuries from all but his family and closest friends.

He said: “There’s no way back for me. I didn’t make the decision, the doctors did. If I had been able to ride, I would have been riding.

“I have been in contact with two of the best doctors and both came to the same conclusions. I’ve been extremely poorly. It’s been a life-threatening injury because I had very bad internal bleeding and many bags of blood just to keep me going.”

GARY HAVELOCK has warned his struggling Berwick squad they are facing the axe. The Bandits have won only one of their first seven matches. The 1992 world champion, who took over as team boss in the winter, said: “Something has to be done as we cannot go on like this. No way.”