MOTORCYCLING star Lewis Rollo is determined to get back on the podium after last season ended with a broken back.

The 23-year-old is back on board with IN Competition Aprilia after two disappointing campaigns on rival bikes.

Last season ended early when he was thrown from his Milenco by Padgetts Motorcycles bike at Donington Park and “landed on [his] head”.

The incident saw Rollo suffer a T5 superior endplate fracture but he is determined to put that firmly behind him and get back on track.

Speaking just after it was confirmed he would back in the National Superstock series, he outlined that the aim was the same once again.

READ MORE: Racer Lewis Rollo breaks bone in his back in bike crash

He said: “I want to win the championship.

“At the end of the day, it is not an unrealistic goal.

“I know I have said it every year, but why not? If other people can win it then why not me?

“There are so many things that come into it. Luck is probably the biggest thing and there is being with the right team, on the right bike and having the right feeling.

“You need to be turning up every weekend being positive and there are so many things going into it.

“If one thing is out then you are on the back foot.”

The injury at the beginning of October ended a season that showed glimpses of promise but ultimately was interrupted by mechanical gremlins and bad luck.

READ MORE: Motorcyclist Lewis Rollo ready for green light in new season

The former Knox Academy pupil spent much of the winter on the road to recovery as he bid to ensure he was ready for the first race meeting of the campaign at Silverstone next Friday (April 7).

He said: “After breaking my back at the end of last year, I was not sure what was going to happen.

“In a way, it was good to get my head away from a bad season and let me get away from a bad year.

“I actually bought my first house with my girlfriend and it let me get a few things sorted out but I never wanted to call it a day.

“I want to be in the championships and want to win races and be as competitive as possible.

“I love road racing and turning up at Knockhill in the British Superbikes in front of 60,000 people supporting you with Scottish flags with your name on them, there is not a better feeling than turning up to that!”

READ MORE: Motorcyclist Lewis Rollo ready for Knockhill return

The former race winner was almost left on the sidelines ahead of the new season after two disappointing campaigns.

However, the chance to reunite with Ian and Myra Newton was great for both parties.

Rollo, who lives in Gifford, has known them both since he was 12, when he won the Aprilia Superteen Championship.

Then, in 2020, he finished third in the National Superstock Championship, which he will be aiming to better over the next six months.

He said: “It was really close, to be honest.

“IN Competition Aprilia were going to stop racing and the sport has turned into a money game.

“There are riders offering £100,000 to teams to get a ride on a bike.

“For someone like myself, who is out working every day as a joiner in the family business, on a normal wage, there is no way I can compete with them.

“I am trying to get sponsors but it is hard. Covid hit everybody, other things have hit people and if I am not getting results it makes it even harder to get sponsorship.”