Doyle partners Folgaria in search of French 1000 Guineas success
Fury as race organisers name wrong person as dead
Isle of Man TT race organisers have confirmed that they incorrectly named the wrong French sidecar competitor to have died in a crash on Sunday.
In a statement, they said driver Cesar Chanal had now been confirmed as having died in the incident that occurred during lap one of the first sidecar race.
On Sunday, they wrongly stated passenger Olivier Lavorel had died from his injuries.
Issuing a new statement on Thursday, organisers clarified that the initial identification procedure carried out resulted in a case of mistaken identity.
Lavorel remains in a critical condition in a Liverpool hospital having been treated at the roadside.
The full statement read: “On Saturday 4th June (BST) 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 4th June. 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 César at this truly devastating time.
“We ask that people do not speculate on social media.”
Two other solo racers have died over the course of the event. Welsh rider Mark Purslow after a crash last week in practice, and Northern Ireland rider Davy Morgan in an accident during the Supersport race on Monday.