Motorsport: Injured Richards back into action

New Zealand V8 Supercar driver Jason Richards will have a fully rebuilt Holden Commodore in time for the eighth round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Oran Park Raceway -- but the same cannot quite be said for his own bodywork.

While his Melbourne-based team have completely rebuilt the Holden after the wild roll-over that virtually destroyed it at Queensland Raceway on July 24, Richards will carry a cracked rib into this weekend's 140km races on the outskirts of Sydney.

Three weeks' rest has helped Richards' body heal but he will wear a protector behind the wheel.

"It's a rib protector that's commonly used in go kart racing. It will help share the load of the shock that goes through your body from the G-forces and bumps over a bigger surface of my body and take some of it off the rib.

"I also have some ligament damage where it joins the vertebrae to the rib. Coughing and sneezing previously were very uncomfortable but the pain hasn't been too bad lately, so it's more of an annoyance than an actual sharp pain."

Richards was lucky to walk away relatively unscathed after he was bumped sideways by Paul Morris, clipped a trackside kerb at 160km/h before barrel-rolling several times.

About A$250,000 ($278,800) was spent rebuilding the vehicle, one of two in the Dodo racing stable.

"If you look at it now, it looks like a brand new car - the boys have done really well," Richards said.

- NZPA