BSB: Shane 'Shakey' Byrne wins High Court claim over career-ending injury

Six-time Bennetts British Superbike Champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne has won his High Court claim against Motorsport Vision Racing, Motorsport Vision and the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board.

Byrne sued the three organisations for damages following his career-ending crash at Snetterton in 2018. The then Be Wiser Ducati rider suffered multiple injuries, including fractures to four vertebrae, his neck in two places, his collarbone and his ribs.

Byrne also suffered two bruised lungs, and had his skull fixed to his body via a metal cage for several months after the incident, which took place during a test on May 17. Doctors told Byrne that he risked the chance of paralysis if he crashed again.

The reason behind the claim was that Byrne, and his bike, hit a barrier protected by a tyre wall rather than air fencing. This type of barrier is known as a type D safety barrier, which sees the tyres bolted together. The hearing was told that Byrne jumped off his Ducati and hit the barrier whilst travelling at between 15 and 25mph.

Byrne said this barrier was insufficient, a claim disputed by the defendants, who suggested that Byrne was at fault, and that the type of barrier used was sufficient. The defendant’s barrister Malcolm Duthie said that Byrne’s riding on that day was the “substantial and real cause.”

Byrne’s barrister, Kiril Waite said that a type A barrier, an air-filled device which acts as a shock absorber, should have been in place as it was the “appropriate form of protection.” Waite also said that the “ball was dropped.”

Judge Peter Blair KC dismissed the defendant’s claims and told the court that Motorsport Vision Racing, Motorsport Vision and the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board were liable for Byrne’s injuries, which were “materially caused” by the collision with the barrier.

Blair said that it was “negligent” not to have type A barriers on the corner of the crash, and that Byrne falling from his bike was “a foreseeable type of racing incident.”

“I am satisfied that the incident was not caused by rider error,” Blair told the court. “Mr Byrne was not the author of his own misfortune and he was not contributorily negligent. On a balance of probabilities, I have concluded that he [Mr Byrne] did not sustain any serious injuries as a result of jumping clear of his motorcycle and tumbling towards the barrier.

“The impact with the barrier, however, materially caused the infliction of his injuries. I have reached the view that if the claimant’s impact had been into type ‘A’ APD material, he would not have sustained any of the serious injuries he did sustain on the day. Nothing presented in the evidence on behalf of the defendants dissuaded me from that conclusion.”

The amount of damages to be paid to Byrne will be determined at a later date.