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Shane Byrne, the most successful rider in the history of the British Superbike Championship, has sued series organizers over a crash that led to career-ending injuries in 2018.

Mr Byrne’s accident occurred at the Snetterton Circuit in 2018, during pre-season testing ahead of a racing event which was scheduled to take place there in June 2018. In the accident, Mr Byrne suffered serious spinal injuries which ultimately ended his professional racing career.

Mr Byrne, 47, from Sittingbourne, Kent, is now suing series organizer BSB Motorsport Vision Racing Ltd (MSVR), circuit owner Snetterton Motorsport Vision Ltd (MSV), and the BSB’s governing body, the Motorcycle Racing Board of Control Limited. (MCRCB), for damages in excess of £1 million.

The basis of the case brought by Mr Byrne against the three aforementioned bodies is that the safety of the ring was not of a sufficiently high standard.

The barriers outside the corner where Mr Byrne crashed were unprotected tire barriers, but his lawyer, Kirill White, says the tire barriers should have been covered by an air fence. Mr White said, according to the Daily Express, that implementing such barriers would have made a “fundamental difference” to the outcome of Mr Byrne’s collapse.

On the other hand, Malcolm Duthie, the lawyer for the three defendants, blamed Mr. Byrne for the plane crash. Mr Duthie said Mr Byrne’s lack of concern for his own safety was the cause of the accident, the Daily Express reported.

The trial continues.