A HOSPITAL boss, who competed in motorbike and sidecar races, caused serious injury to himself and his passenger when the vintage machine crashed on a pleasure ride, a court heard.

Martin Quirk, 49, the head of technical services at Airedale General Hospital, has still not recovered from his injuries, 17 months after the accident, but his passenger was now working on a ranch in Australia, Bradford Crown Court was told.

Quirk yesterday pleaded not guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but admitted causing serious injury by careless driving.

Prosecutor Simon Haring said Quirk was the owner of a 1951 Vincent motorcycle and sidecar. He had been riding motorcycles from childhood, had ridden competitively, held a racing licence, and had competed on that machine and sidecar.

On June 29 last year, Quirk went to his son, Jack's, house, after attending a classic bike event in Skipton. He took his son out for a ride as his sidecar pillion passenger. When he returned, Jack's friend, Robin Howie, was keen to have a go, but he had no sidecar experience and did not know what was expected of him as pillion passenger.

Mr Haring said the machine was travelling towards Skipton from the village of Embsay when the rear nearside wheel left the road two or three times on a left hand bend. The motorcycle and sidecar went off the road to the offside, through a fence and into a field. Quirk and his passenger were both severely injured.

A road traffic officer concluded the bike was being driven at an inappropriate speed.

Mr Howie suffered fractured ribs, a punctured lung, contusions to his other lung, and lacerations to his spleen which had to be removed. He also had to have 20 stitches to a wound to his leg.

Quirk fractured his pelvis and suffered two fractured vertebrae, a broken collarbone and shoulder, a severed femural artery and a blood clot on the brain.

His barrister, Richard Gioserano, told the court his client still had problems with his hip and leg and was having physiotherapy.

The defendant maintained the bike and sidecar were in good order and regularly checked, though a defence expert had suggested the front damper of the bike may have been defective and contributed to the accident. If the defendant had given better instruction to the sidecar passenger, it could have prevented what occurred.

Mr Gioserano said his client had been driving for 30 years, on and off the track, and had never accrued a penalty point on his licence. He was skilled and experienced on the machine, but had made a mistake in taking the young man out without instruction.

Judge Robin Mairs said it was an error of judgement, rather than prolonged recklessness, and the defendant's culpability was limited. Both he and his passenger were lucky to be alive.

He fined Quirk, of Yeadon Drive, Halifax, £250, ordered him to pay £535 prosecution costs, and imposed six penalty points on his licence.