A Pembroke man died when he lost control of his motorcycle at high speed and was thrown more than 30 feet into the air, an inquest heard yesterday.

It also heard suggestions that Brian Campbell intended to go racing on the night he died on Corregidor Road at the former US Navy base at Southside.

Coroner Tyrone Chin criticised three friends of Mr. Campbell -- Adrian Minks, Michael Simons and Andre Tuzo -- who gave statements but failed to turn up at the inquest to answer questions about his death, despite being warned to do so by Police.

Mr. Campbell's mother Maryann Collis said afterwards that one friend was off the Island and that two of them had told her about Brian's death and assured her they were not racing.

Accident investigator Sgt. Philip Lewis said he calculated Mr. Campbell's motorcycle was travelling at a minimum range of between 61 and 86 kilometres per hour when it struck a kerb at 12.30 a.m. on November 21. The bike did not brake and Mr. Campbell -- described as an "avid racer'' -- was thrown more than 30 feet through the air before hitting the pavement and then slamming into a water hydrant a further 20 feet away with such force that it caused a fracture.

Sgt. Lewis said Mr. Campbell, a Federal Express worker of Traveller's Lane, lost control for unknown reasons as he was rounding a bend.

Mr. Campbell, who was dead at the scene, died of massive internal injuries, said Dr. John Obafunwa, a consultant pathologist at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

A subsequent test showed there were no drugs or alcohol in his system. Mr.

Tuzo's statement said he saw Mr. Campbell on a pedal bike on November 20 and claimed the dead man only used this "when he gets his bike souped up for racing''.

"I knew he was racing that night. He did not drink or smoke and he did not say where he was going racing that night.'' Mr. Minks statement said he, Willard Wilkinson and Mr. Campbell went to visit a cycle repair shop at Southside shortly after 11 p.m. but found it closed.

But they found Paul Simons and his brother Michael there and took off after talking. Mr. Minks said he and Mr. Campbell headed for Hamilton with Mr.

Simons and Mr. Wilkinson in front.

He was riding in front of Mr. Campbell, the statement continued, but at one point realised he was not behind him. The trio retraced their route and found Mr. Campbell's body by the fire hydrant.

Mr. Minks said he checked for a pulse but found none, while Mr. Wilkinson called an ambulance. He said they were travelling at above the legal speed limit but could not recall their actual speed.

P.c. Wesley Watson told the inquest: "It is not conclusive that they were there to race each other, but the owner of the cycle shop stated that on Saturdays his shop was due to be closed.

"The deceased was an avid bike racer who would boast about his racing exploits on weekends. One person said he saw the deceased on a pedal cycle, which he used when he was ready for racing.'' Mr. Chin, who ruled that Mr. Campbell had died as a result of injuries caused by a single vehicle accident, apologised to the dead man's family for the failure of his friends to appear in court.

He said: "You can't ask questions of a witness statement. What we truly wanted to get with these three men, who filed a report, was to get further answers as to why they were there, but we did not have the opportunity to do that because they chose not to do that.

"There may be lingering questions in the family's mind. I must admonish those who did not appear. It would have been a more whole inquest.'' Mrs. Collis said later: "I didn't feel too bad because we questioned Minks and Wilkinson so it would not have made much difference.'' She said her son was riding his pedal cycle to get fit and did not only ride it when his motorcycle was being prepared for races.