When Gary McCoy slid off his bike at the Isle of Man TT in June, he had two seconds to process what was about to happen.

“‘Oh no, not again’ I knew what was coming,” he recalled.

The Northern Ireland road racer ended up in hospital with five broken vertebrae in his back, one of which was crushed, and a broken shoulder blade.

Just 13 months earlier, McCoy had another big crash at the North West 200 which left him with serious injuries.

On that occasion, a following rider crashed into McCoy from behind approaching Mill Road roundabout and he was left with a bleed in the brain, a punctured lung and 22 broken bones.

Yet, despite an extensive list of injuries from the two accidents, McCoy plans to get back on the bike and hit the roads again next year.

Speaking to the BBC Bikes podcast, McCoy says he was in “disbelief” after his accident at the Isle of Man TT, and says he was “very, very lucky”, but the thought of competing again is not only driving on his recovery, but also his drive to get back to work.

“Whenever you want something bad enough you sort of look by it all, and it keeps you going forward,” he said.

“But motorbikes is driving me on, motorbikes is driving me on to get fitter and get better, get back to work, get back to racing.

“If you didn’t know motorbikes, you would have no drive. I don’t think so. I don’t think so. It’s driving me on at the minute and long may it last.”

McCoy grew up watching road racing right across Ireland with his family, but it wasn’t until he was 21 that he started competing.

He made his North West 200 debut in 2022, when he was the best newcomer, and had several top 10 finishes at the international road race.

After he recovered from his 2025 North West 200 accident, the 27-year-old was primed to make his TT debut for the family-run MadBros team in June, and things had started well.

McCoy had shown impressive form in qualifying as a newcomer but an accident in damp conditions in the opening Supersport race brought his TT debut to a sudden halt.

“Prior to the crash, everything was absolutely amazing. It was the best thing I’ve ever done,” McCoy added.

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do from when I was three or four years of age.

“So, after twenty seven years of wanting to do it, and finally getting to do it, it was unbelievable.”

On his crash, which happened at the Kerrowmoar section of the 37.73-mile circuit on the third lap of the race, McCoy was still looking at the positives.

“We were just caught out in the damp patch and chatting to a few others, even Michael Dunlap said to the boys he had a wee moment down through it, and Paul Jordan had a wee moment through it.

“A few top boys were having moments, you know, so it’s just unfortunate that a newcomer had to get caught out and that is what it is.”

McCoy has two young children and a wife, Leana, and admits that road racing is “a very selfish sport”.

He admits Leana would be happy if he stayed away from the bike and there is a lot of pressure on her, but she is supportive of him racing.

McCoy says he moved back in with his mum and dad for three months after his 2025 crash as Leana was dealing with a newborn, and says she is a “strong woman”.

“You just think it is never going to be you in that situation,” McCoy said about the dangers of the sport.”

“All I wanted to do was race motorbikes and I’m doing it.

“I can’t really explain it any more than that. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. So I’m doing it and I’m not going to give up on it.”

McCoy says his full focus is on returning to the North West 200 and Isle of Man TT, where he wants to be progressing.

For the TT in particular, the Cookstown rider said he “can’t describe the feeling” of getting ready to set off down Bray Hill for the opening laps.

“Until you actually experience it and until you actually experience it and do the Isle of Man TT, you can’t really explain what it means or how it feels.

“It’s just out of this world.”

Listen to the BBC Bikes podcast with Gary McCoy and Stephen Watson on BBC Sounds.