Organisers of the Isle of Man TT have confirmed they wrongly identified a deceased rider following a fatal crash at the weekend.
On Saturday it was announced French passenger Olivier Lavorel had been killed in a crash during a sidecar race with team-mate Cesar Chanal having been taken to hospital.
Four days later, a new statement has been issued clarifying it was Chanal who died.
Lavorel remains in a critical condition in hospital in Liverpool.
Olivier Lavorel, who was wrongly pronounced dead after the accident
Isle of Man TT
Welsh rider Mark Purslow was killed in qualifying last week
Instagram/MarkPurslow
The families of both competitors have been informed.
The statement read: “On Saturday, June 4 during the opening lap of the first Sidecar Race of the 2022 Isle of Man TT Races, an accident at Ago’s Leap involving outfit number 21 of Cesar Chanal and Olivier Lavorel resulted in the death of one of the competitors.
“The race was stopped with the deployment of full-course red flags and medical personnel, a travelling marshal and the emergency services were immediately dispatched to the scene.
“One of the competitors sustained injuries that would not support life and was sadly declared dead at the scene. The second competitor was unconscious with severe injuries.
“The injured competitor was treated at the roadside before being transferred to Noble’s Hospital, and then airlifted to a specialist hospital in Liverpool to receive treatment.
“An initial identification procedure was conducted using established procedures and would appear to have resulted in a mistaken identification.
“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.
“A thorough review of the processes relating to the identification of competitors will take place in due course.
“Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of both Olivier and Cesar at this truly devastating time.”
There have been two other deaths at this year’s festival.
Welsh rider Mark Purslow was killed in qualifying last week and Northern Ireland’s Davy Morgan died after an accident in Monday’s Supersport Race.
