Sixteen-time Isle of Man TT winner Ian Hutchinson says he is on the mend after suffering a stroke two weeks ago.
The 43-year-old made the shock revelation on his Instagram page and said he fell ill while cycling in Spain.
Hutchinson said British Superbike rider Jason O’Halloran had ‘saved my life’.
In the post, he wrote: ‘Had a stroke while cycling in Spain 2 weeks ago. Jason saved my life.
“All good now, thank you more than I can ever believe mate.”
Responding to the post, Australian O’Halloran said: ‘You’re a tough bugger’.
Yorkshireman Hutchinson rode for Northern Ireland’s TAS Racing team in 2022 on the Milwaukee BMW.
He finished fourth in the Superbike race and claimed seventh position in the Superstock and Senior races.
Hutchinson famously won five races in a week at the TT with the Padgett’s Honda team in 2010.
A crash later that year at Silverstone left him with a severely broken left leg, when doctors considered amputating his foot as a result of his injuries.
Against the odds and following countless setbacks and operations, he overcame adversity to return to winning ways at the TT, including chalking up a treble in 2015, when he won both Supersport races and the Superstock event.
Another hat-trick followed in 2016 as the ‘Bingley Bullet’ equalled the great Mike Hailwood’s tally of 14 wins.
He said at the time: “It is astonishing to be near names like Mike Hailwood – touching really. I didn’t want to stay on 13 wins for too long.”
Hutchinson added another two victories in 2017 to move onto 16 wins in total, including his most recent success around the TT Mountain Course in the Superstock race.
Unfortunately, he was brought back down to earth in the final race of the 2017 festival, crashing out of the Senior on the Tyco BMW while contesting the lead.
He fractured his left femur once again and had to have his left ankle removed as a result of the 130mph spill at the 27th Milestone.
Hutchinson is currently the fourth most successful solo rider ever at the TT behind Northern Ireland’s Joey Dunlop (26 wins), John McGuinness (23) and old rival Michael Dunlop, who moved onto 21 victories with a double in the Supersport races at the event in 2022.
