Raymond Munro claims he could no longer concentrate on his business interests after the accident.

Mr Munro, a former Scottish rally champion, maintains that he lost confidence in event notes provided for the sport and gave up rallying, which was described as his passion.

He is now suing William Sturrock, who trades as Scotmaps and produced material for drivers taking part in the Speyside Stages Rally in August 2004, in an action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

Mr Sturrock is contesting the action and claims the accident was caused solely by Mr Munro failing to take the bend at an appropriate speed and manner.

It is claimed many other drivers purchased the route notes for use in the event and none made the same mistake as Mr Munro, who was a previous winner of the rally.

A judge was shown a video of the crash taken from inside Mr Munro’s modified Subaru Impreza as he manoeuvred round the course. After the collision he could be heard telling co-driver Heather Collins to get out of the vehicle.

Mr Munro said he knew the next competitor “wasn’t far behind”. He said: “I knew the very most I had was a minute to get out.”

The court heard that £23,000 worth of damage was caused to the rally car, which had cost Mr Munro £180,000.

In the minutes leading up to the crash his navigator could be heard reading him details of the route ahead from notes.

The part of the course where he crashed was designated as a left-hand, 40-degree bend. In route notes for the 2001 event the same corner was described as a 70 degree bend, Mr Munro said.

His counsel, Gerry Hanretty QC, asked how he would have driven into a 70-degree bend as opposed to a 40-degree one.

Mr Munro, 48, of Resaurie, Smithton, in Inverness, said: “At least 30 to 40mph slower. At least two gears lower, maybe three gears.”

He said he stopped rallying about three months after the accident. He added: “I no longer had any confidence in the notes provided.”

Mr Munro said he was left feeling “very unhappy” and made his feelings known to the committee that ran the Scottish rally championship and to Mr Sturrock.

Mr Hanretty asked him if it had been suggested to him that the litigation was damaging to rallying. He replied: “Yes, it has been very difficult to find witnesses.”

Mr Munro maintains in his action that it is essential that notes bought by rally drivers for a course are accurate. They were not allowed to reconnaissance the Speyside route prior to the event.

Mr Munro said he suffered post traumatic stress disorder and could no longer concentrate on his business interests.

It is said that prior to the accident he was a “confident, astute, successful and hard-working businessman”, but after the incident he was unable to concentrate or motivate himself. He had interests in car hire, land development and other business projects.

Mr Sturrock, of Swan Street, Brechin, in Angus, said the route notes were not intended to be scientifically accurate and provide a subjective assessment of a course. They also do not attempt to provide advice on the speed at which the route should be driven, he argues.

It is maintained that Mr Munro was unhurt in the accident and any consequence was restricted to “an adjustment disorder” in the immediate wake of the crash, with no long-term psychiatric consequences.

The hearing before Lord Uist continues.