Water patch likely caused MGP crash, inquest told

A patch of water believed to be contaminated with peat likely caused a Manx Grand Prix rider to lose control of his motorcycle and suffer a fatal crash, a race collision investigator has told his inquest.

Louis O'Regan, 43, from Waterford in Ireland, crashed during the opening qualifying session of the event at about 16:50 BST on 18 August 2024 in the area of Kate's Cottage.

O'Regan was pronounced dead at about 17:05. A post-mortem examination found he would have died of multiple injuries "pretty quickly after impact".

Douglas Courthouse heard fellow rider Jamie Williams suffered a significant crash in the same area two hours before O'Regan, prompting an investigator to attend the scene.

Steffan Hoy told the inquest he believed O'Regan went over a wet patch which lay on the "margin" of the road's racing line.

He said he believed peat contamination meant the wet patch had been "very slippery underfoot, with less adhesion than you would expect [from] a damp road surface."

Hoy acknowledged the substance had not been tested.

Juan Kinnish, who examined O'Regan's bike, wrote in a report that he found "no mechanical defects that were a causative or contributing factor of the incident".

John Mullen, who worked as a marshal in the area of the crash, said he saw the rear of O'Regan's bike "twitch" before hitting a bank three times and flying high into the air.

He said both O'Regan and Williams had lost control in "the exact same spot".

Chief Sector Marshal Mark Johnson said there seemed to be more bikes "twitching" than normal on the day of the fatal crash.

He said following Williams' accident, he told marshals at Keppel Gate to display a "lack of adhesion" flag.

He could not confirm whether that had been done, however.

While water on the road "was always an issue" in that stretch, he told the inquest that following O'Regan's crash he would not let any other bikes through.

Johnson also noted radio communications were known to be "very poor" in that sector, where messages were missed because of signal drop outs.

A statement by Gary Saunders from the Department of Infrastructure said that prior to Manx Grand Prix and TT events, organisers Auto Cycle Union (ACU) would inspect the course and raise any concerns.

No such concerns had been raised on that stretch, Saunders said.

He added that subsequent roadworks in the area to prevent water seepage were due to public safety following a number of collisions, and not related to the incident.

He explained that MGP and TT races did not take place under wet conditions.

The inquest will reconvene on Friday for the coroner of inquests' judgement.

Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.