Isle of Man TT organisers named wrong man in fatal crash

Isle of Man TT organisers said on Wednesday they had misidentified a French sidecar racer who died in a crash at the weekend.

Passenger Olivier Lavorel was named last Saturday as the dead man but organisers said he had been confused with compatriot Cesar Chanal.

“An initial identification procedure was conducted using established procedures and would appear to have resulted in a mistaken identification,” they said in a statement. “We now believe it was Cesar Chanal who died at the scene of the accident on Saturday June 4. Olivier remains in a critical condition and continues to receive treatment.

“Both competitors’ families have been informed.”

Organisers said they would be carrying out “a thorough review of the processes relating to the identification of competitors”.

Three riders have died competing in this year's TT races held on public roads around the island off the northwest coast of England.

British Supersport rider Mark Purslow, 29, died in qualifying last Wednesday and Northern Irish veteran Davy Morgan, 52, was killed on Monday.

The event has been run since 1907 and ranks among the most dangerous in motorsport, with 263 deaths so far in the TT races, Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT.