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Aaron Slight has had a stroke.
The kiwi-born world superbike racer, who turned 34 last month, is to undergo brain surgery this afternoon in Sydney, Australia, where he has been resting after abandoning a race test this week.
Aaron\'s wife Megan is with him and immediate family members are flying to Sydney from New Zealand today.
While the operation is risky, to avoid it is likely to be fatal. If it is successful, doctors say Aaron could expect a full recovery.
He underwent an MRI brain scan two days ago, revealing an arterio-venous malfunction, a ruptured blood vessel bleeding into his brain. This is not a condition caused by racing or a fall, but one he has probably carried all his life.
\"Aaron\'s as fine as anyone can expect,\" said Megan Slight from the hospital where Aaron is preparing for the operation.
\"He\'s talking and although he\'s pretty depressed about it all he\'s relieved in a way that we now know what\'s been wrong for the past year.
\"He\'s already talking about getting back to racing this year.\"
Doctors say the rupture, a form of stroke, would have caused pressure in the brain affecting coordination, focus and vision.
Those were the symptoms Slight cited when he pulled out of day one of a Castrol Honda test session at Eastern Creek on Monday.
\"I just couldn\'t concentrate out there,\" he said after riding the brand new Honda VTR1000 SP1 back to the pits.
\"I was riding around wondering where I was till eventually I thought I\'d better park this before I get hurt.\"
The blow is a cruel one just as Slight apparently had the bike to take on the all-conquering Ducati in world superbikes, and on which he was among the quickest in testing at Phillip Island last week despite battling to focus.
While running a 750cc V4 Honda against the 1000cc Italian twins, Slight was twice runner-up in the world and never out of the top three for six consecutive years to 1998.
Last year he finished fourth, suffering mild concentration problems which now come into sharp focus.
\"We\'ve been worried about it since this time last year,\" revealed Megan Slight.
\"Aaron seemed to have every test known to man, but we found nothing other than that he was recovering from recent glandular fever which we never even knew he had.
\"Now we know it was more serious than that and really you have to wonder how he kept going.
\"Often he complained of being unable to concentrate and sometimes that his vision was not right.
\"But typical Aaron, he\'s determined to race again this season.
\"However the doctors have warned us not to expect a quick recovery. We\'ll just see how things go this afternoon.\"
Aaron Slight was due to ride his final test on the new V-twin racebike at Misano in northern Italy in a fortnight, before taking a short holiday prior to the opening of the world championship in South Africa on 2 April.
Widely respected as one of the nicest guys in world racing, Masterton-born Aaron Slight is also one of the unluckiest. Twice he has been within a heartbeat of the world title he set his heart on, only to be denied at the last race; and often he was the recipient of horrendous injuries caused by someone else\'s mistake.
However he remains the only rider to win the world\'s toughest race, the Suzuka 8-hour in Japan, three times in succession.
The manager of the Castrol Honda world superbike team, Neil Tuxworth, has just arrived back in England from Sydney and has asked fans worldwide to respect the Slight family\'s privacy at a difficult time.
\"All we are concerned about right now is Aaron\'s recovery. We\'ll worry about the racing later.\"
Medical specialists say the racer\'s condition, AVM, is present from birth. Most victims never know they have the problem unless a blood vessel bursts, putting pressure on the brain and causing a stroke or seizure.
Ironically but perhaps typically the news comes as Slight, through his New Zealand base, is conducting an internet auction of his racing gear and clothing to raise funds for the Cot Death Association.
New Zealand fans can send messages of support to Slight Advantage, fax (03) 365 4466, email ASlight@ihug.co.nz
