It is with great sadness that we bring the news that in this afternoon’s practice for the Senior Manx Grand Prix; Louis O’Regan of Didcot; lost his life in an accident at Kate’s Cottage. He was 43 years of age and an experienced competitor in the Manx Grand Prix; having made his debut in 2013. He achieved his fastest lap of 114.70mph in 2019. We join the organizers in sending our condolences to his partner Sarah; his family and many friends.
Sunday afternoon brought us warm sunshine; with just a few high clouds drifting past on the light north-westerly breeze. The roads were dry from Ramsey through to our vantage point for the session; Douglas Road Corner, Kirk Michael. There were a good number of spectators gathered through the village to watch the action unfold.
After a 15 minute delay, the session began with the escorted, speed controlled lap for the newcomers to the course. When you see this lap, you always wonder if; from their midst a new star is going to rise; such as Joe Yeardsley last year; or TT winners such as Michael Dunlop; Ian Hutchinson; Steve Hislop, Carl Fogarty or Phil Read. The first batches were led by former TT star John Barton and TT winner Richard Quayle. Once this lap had been completed it was time for the MGP Senior and the Classic Superbike classes to take to the track.
First to reach us was Brian McCormack on the Greenall Kawasaki; then it was last year’s Senior MGP winner; Joe Yeardsley, on his Mistral Kawasaki. Mike Browne was next; he was having his first lap on the lovely 916 Key Ducati. Michael Dunlop was not so lucky with his Ducati; a couple of miles being all that it covered before expiring. Derek Sheils was next; then it was Rob Hodson who proved to be the fastest man on the day with a best lap of 123.453mph on his Greenall Kawasaki. The action then became more frenetic as the riders sought to take maximum advantage of the favourable conditions. Michael Rutter was circulating in tandem with Ian Hutchinson. Just after they had passed through; we had a moment of drama. The engine on Lee Johnston’s RC45 had a blow up; throwing out clouds of smoke as Lee slowed the machine before parking it on the garage forecourt 150m down the road. The marshals reacted instantly to warn approaching riders of the oil that had been left on the track by the ailing machine. Shortly afterwards, the RC45 of Nathan Harrison came through; looking and sounding superb.
The first of the Senior MGP riders to reach us was Jamie Williams on the NCE Racing Honda. Jamie later had an accident at Kate’s Cottage in which he received shoulder and hip injuries. The accident necessitated the use of the red flag to allow debris to be cleared from the track. This meant that no Senior MGP rider and quiet a few Superbike riders did not complete the lap.
After a delay of 40 minutes, the next session for the Classic Senior, Classic Junior; MGP Junior and Lightweight machines began. Leading on the road was Jamie Coward on the Craven Manx; he had John McGuinness, on his reserve Paton machine, 5 metres behind. Stuart Hall was next on his Lightweight Yamaha. The session was very busy; there were no real moments in Kirk Michael; just a couple who went wide onto the cement dust, put onto the oil dropped by Johnston’s machine, as they passed the school. It was good to see Davo Johnson having his first outing on a classic single; in this case a Craven Manx. Lee Johnston had more luck this time; going well on his Lightweight Reed Honda. Also noted was returning former race winner Glen English. On lap 2 McGuinness led Coward by 50 metres. The session continued to be busy providing good viewing for the spectators; Joe Yeardsley was neat and fast as he hustled the Flitwick Enfield through the village, as was team mate Adam McLean and Mike Browne on the Eureka Norton.
Once their time had elapsed, it was time for the Senior MGP and Classic Superbike machines to return to the track. First to reach us in this was Rob Hodson; closely followed by Dom Herbertson, Michael Rutter and Derek Sheils. First of the Senior riders to reach us was race favourite Daniel Ingham (Castings Technology Yamaha); next was Michael Gahan. We were again treated to a busy session. Then, shortly after the last of the riders had gone past, the red flag was once again displayed. The reason for this was the tragic accident involving Louis O’Regan.
Once the riders had been escorted back to the Grandstand, the Roads Open car was dispatched to open the course from the Grandstand to the Bungalow; so closing a tragic first practice for the Manx Grand Prix.
A gallery of today’s action will be posted tomorrow, with the best lap times.
