Although his mum confessed she couldn't bear to watch Craig Jones competing because of the dangers, she said she took comfort in his poignant words of reassurance to her, "Mum, if I die racing, I'll die happy".

Craig was just 23 and had been tipped as a future world champion when tragedy struck at the World Supersport Championship race at Brands Hatch on Sunday.

Watched by spectators at the track and on TV by thousands of shocked supporters – including his parents Steve and Yvonne and girlfriend Karen Atkins – he crashed at 120mph and was thrown off his bike, leaving him with serious head injuries.

Despite medics treating him by the trackside and efforts to save him at the Royal London Hospital – where he was transferred by air ambulance – Craig lost his battle for life in the early hours of yesterday morning, surrounded by his loved ones.

Parkalgar Honda racer Craig, who lived in Warmington, near Oundle, with his girlfriend, was one of the brightest prospects in the sport and last year, finishing fifth in the World Supersport Championship, and was named young rider of the year.

Speaking from her home in Northwich, in Cheshire, where Craig is originally from, mother Yvonne (48) paid a heart-breaking tribute to "my boy".

She also revealed she had bought him his first bike – a PW50 Yamaha motorcross bike – as a third birthday gift, sparking his passion.

She said: "He was my boy – that's what I called him.

"I hated him racing. When he crashed in 2001, I never wanted him to race again.

"But he said to me, 'Mum, you might as well cut off my arms and legs if you say I can't race'.

"It was what he loved. He died doing what he loved best. We do take comfort from that.

"He told me, 'If I die racing, I will die happy.'

"He was a good racer, but to me he was just Craig. He was lovely and caring and would give you anything.

"He was my sunshine. He was special the day he was born.

"He put more into 10 to 12 years of racing than people do in their life time.

"I loved him to bits."

His dad, Steve (47), said the hours since his beloved son's death had been "traumatic and surreal".

The car parts sales advisor said: "We keep thinking he's going to walk through the door, or there will be a phone call saying it's a mistake. But it isn't."

He said he put the risks out of his mind when watching his son race and he could see his promise early on.

He said: "For his mum, she always worried about the dark side of the sport. I never did. You think it will never happen to you.

"At three, his mum bought him a PW50 Yamaha motorcross bike, and we played around the fields that backed onto the house.

"I took him to race meetings, because I used to do grass track racing myself. But it wasn't for him and I never pushed him.

"Then in 1995, he went on to race mini motos, and that was it – he was hooked.

"At seven years old, he could ride a Yamaha like a speedway rider.