Rookie motorcycle racer Justin Sousa is counting his blessings after suffering extensive injuries in a serious crash during Sunday’s Race of Champions at Southside.

The 37-year-old broke both legs below the knee, two ribs as well as a bone in his neck and shoulder and punctured a lung after losing control of his 600cc motorcycle and colliding into a fence.

He was knocked out cold and regained consciousness en route to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance.

The mishap occurred early in the second race in Sousa’s respective class when the rider drifted off the racetrack and collided with the fence while attempting to negotiate a turn coming off the back straightaway without any front brakes.

During the first race, Sousa became wary that his front brakes were not up to scratch and as a precaution decided to “play it safe” in the second race to avoid getting into an accident and suffering injury.

“My front tyre was sliding a lot in the first race and I was concerned about potentially having a crash and hurting myself so the second race I followed the last place rider just keep up with him and finish the race because I’m 37 and I’m not trying to kill myself,” he said.

“There was a malfunction with the brake master cylinder that obviously I didn’t realise till after the fact.

“There is a pin inside the master cylinder that pushes the piston that popped out and there was no brakes, so there was a malfunction with the front brake system and there were no brakes whatsoever. At the last minute, I hit the back brakes but it wasn’t enough to slow down and I went right into the fence coming off the back straightaway.

“It’s a full throttle straightaway and then you jam brakes hard at the end so doing those speeds and having no brakes there’s not a whole lot of time to do anything else.

“All I had was time to hit the back brakes and lay the bike down and by then it was too late — I was through the other side of the fence. To make that turn you are doing 90 miles per hour and you’re shedding like 50 miles on the brakes easy, so you go from 90 miles to 40 miles an hour to make the corner. But without any brakes, there’s no way you are making that corner.”

The father of four, who is recovering on a general hospital ward, said that his ordeal has given him a new perspective on the sport and life in general.

“This has opened my eyes to mechanical malfunctions that can override me just being safe,” he said. “I went out in that second race just to be safe, not do anything stupid and finish the race and I almost killed myself, so it kind of gives you a different perspective on things.”

Sousa is now pondering his future in the sport after only one season.

“At this point, I don’t have any desire to race any more because I have to think about my children,” he said. “But you never know I might get on a smaller bike and ride because I do enjoy being out there and enjoy the atmosphere and being involved with a great bunch of people.

“I absolutely love racing and the adrenalin of pushing myself to limits, it’s just who I am as a person, I love being in the mix and the challenge of going as fast as I can.”

Sousa’s three sons, Cody, CJ and Cameron, are also involved in the sport.

And, despite his ordeal, the businessman says that he will not discourage them from continuing to race.

“In any sort of racing there’s a danger aspect of it and if it’s something they really want to do I will support them,” he said. “But I’m going to be very conscientious about keeping it as safe as possible and really going over everything mechanically on the bikes to make sure they are in tip-top shape.”