A story in yesterday's Royal Gazette incorrectly reported that SAL allows motocross riders to use its property in Southampton for racing. SAL has never given permission for the use of its property by any group.

One of the men involved in a head on motocross collision vowed never to ride on a makeshift track again.

"We went up there. There are bikes up there all the time, having a little bit of fun,'' Rui Camara told The Royal Gazette on Friday. "Then this stupid stuff happened.'' The second rider, Rodney Marshall, was rushed to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital with head injuries after he and Mr. Camara collided on a makeshift dirt-bike track last Thursday.

Mr. Marshall -- who was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident -- was listed in stable condition in the intensive care unit last night.

The two men, aged 21 and 25, respectively, were racing on an area of land opposite Paw Paws Restaurant on South Road, Warwick.

"I don't really remember anything,'' Mr. Camara explained. "I just remember we hit head on, that's it.'' Mr. Camara -- who said he normally paid to ride recreationally at the Coney Island facility -- owned both of the 125cc bikes involved in the mishap.

"He went in one way and I was trying to follow him,'' he explained. "But he came out the way he went in. He wasn't padded up or anything. Those guys told him to put on a helmet, but he didn't want to.'' Mr. Camara said he suffered a sprained wrist, badly swollen neck and face, and was now wearing a neck brace as a result of the accident.

According to Mr. Camara, Mr. Marshall's nose and jaw were both broken.

And although he said he rarely used the Warwick site, he said many other riders did.

"We never knew if it was legal or not. We don't know really. Nobody ever said anything to us. You can hear bikes over there all the time,'' he said.

Todd Weaver, president of the BAA, yesterday said the collision was the result of frustrated riders trying to find places to ride.

But he had already entered discussions with Government to increase the operating hours of Coney Island, he said.

And past president Ras Mykkal agreed the sport had suffered in recent years as more restrictions were placed on when people could practice and race.

"A number of (unauthorised) places popped up from St. George's to St. David's to Somerset,'' he said.

"There are people riding at the SAL property in Southampton. There are people riding at Hog Bay Level Park in Somerset. There used to be a problem with people riding in Pembroke Dump. And of course this area Southlands on South Shore.'' "It's no secret because you can hear them,'' he added.

And as far as he knew, only the SAL property was used with permission.

A Police spokesman yesterday said it was difficult to catch individuals on dirt bikes because they were able to escape long before the authorities arrived.

Mr. Mykkal said he hoped an area would eventually be found which could house all the motor sports together.

"Whether these guys are members or not, they have possession of bikes that are identified with the sport and that will reflect badly,'' he said. "Riding without a helmet is definitely a no-no and everybody in the Autocycle Association knows that.

"I don't want to ruin the fun of anyone, but I don't want somebody else's fun to ruin the image of the sport.

"You don't ever, ever ride without a helmet. People who are not members, who just like the power that these bikes put out, ride without knowledge.

"It's literally an accident waiting to happen.'' COLLISION -- Rider Rodney Marshall is put into an ambulance after last week's motocross accident.

Graphic file name: STRETCH