Motorcyclist died in five-bike crash at race start

Sam Clews (centre), a championship winning rider, was pronounced dead at the side of the track

A motorcyclist who died in a crash at the start line of a race may have "stalled" or suffered a "malfunction", a coroner's court has heard.

Sam Clews, 32, and from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, was pronounced dead at Snetterton racetrack on 2 July last year.

Norfolk Coroners' Court heard how he had raised his right arm at the start of the race to "indicate a problem" but was then hit from behind by four motorcycles.

Norfolk's senior coroner, Jacqueline Lake, concluded that Mr Clews' death was accidental.

Mr Clews had been taking part in a Lansdowne Classic series race, hosted by the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club (CRMC), when the five-vehicle crash occurred.

His motorbike, a Manx Norton 499cc, had been checked by a technician before the race and was found to be in good working order, the court was told.

Mr Clews had also taken part in a practice lap without any issues.

At the start line, just as the red lights went out to signal the start of the race, Mr Clews, who was in the middle of the second row of the grid, was said to look down at his bike and raise his right arm.

The court heard that "in a matter of seconds" he was hit by a motorcycle from behind and was thrown from his bike.

He was then struck by a further three motorcycles.

A marshal at the start line of the race told the coroner's court that by the time Mr Clews had raised his right arm it was "too late to abort the race".

Mr Clews suffered "multiple traumatic injuries" and received medical treatment at the track side.

He was pronounced dead at 11:23 BST, 21 minutes after the start of the race.

Another rider, a man in his 60s, was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital by air ambulance, while three other riders suffered minor injuries.

Vintage motorsport events are regularly held at Snetterton racetrack

After the race, a collisions investigator for Suffolk Constabulary inspected Mr Clews' motorbike and found no reportable issues that could have caused it to malfunction.

An investigation by health and safety officials at Breckland Council also found that there was no evidence to suggest that the conditions of the track, or the weather, contributed to the collision.

However, the authority told the court that it was "concerned" by how quickly the riders and motorcycles had been cleared from the track before police and health and safety officials had arrived at the scene.

It said it had also raised concerns with the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU), the sports' national governing body, about ways in which safety improvements could be made in future.

In a statement, the ACU told the court that it was having "ongoing discussions" with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport about potential changes.

A spokesperson for Team Lansdowne told the BBC: "Sam was a highly valued member of our family as he was a great, talented person with a lively sense of humour, who would help anyone.

"Our sport is at turns both wonderful and intensely cruel and perhaps that is one of its main attractions."