Isle of Man TT organisers have announced that it was sidecar driver Cesar Chanal who died following a crash at Ago’s Leap during the first attempt at running Saturday’s Sidecar TT.
They have also announced that after a case of mistaken identity at the time, his passenger Olivier Lavorel, originally announced as dead, remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Speaking in a statement released following Mr. Chanal’s family announced the death of their son on Wednesday morning, TT bosses confirmed that they “believe” that they have now correctly identified the two competitors.
“The race was stopped with the deployment of full-course red flags,’ the statement read, “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.”
The Race joins the wider racing fraternity in sending its deepest condolences to Cesar’s family, friends and team at this time, and sends its absolute best wishes to Oliver.
