Overview
- Race organisers confirmed that Swiss rider Mauro Poncini died after a crash at Cruickshanks during the opening lap of Tuesday’s second qualifying session and that a second competitor suffered minor injuries and was treated at Nobles Hospital.
- Officials announced late on Wednesday that local rider Sam Naughton, 37, died in a separate crash at Doran’s Bend during the third qualifying session, making two confirmed fatalities across consecutive days.
- Both sessions were immediately red‑flagged when the incidents occurred and on‑island marshals, medical teams and emergency services followed standard procedures while investigations were opened.
- Organisers used contingency running and revised timetables to recover lost track time after earlier weather disruptions and the two incidents, and they have asked for privacy for the families of those killed.
- The crashes underline the risks of public‑road racing on the Isle of Man Mountain Course, a 37.7‑mile circuit with a long history of fatalities that includes Poncini as the 272nd motorcycle or sidecar participant reported killed on the circuit since 1911.