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It is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of Dan Kneen, who died from the injuries he sustained during Wednesday’s Superbike qualifying session for the Isle of Man TT.

The 30-year-old Isle of Man native crashed his Tyco BMW S1000RR at Churchtown, during the first lap of the qualifying session, which was subsequently red-flagged and stopped.

According to a statement by the ACU, which sanctions the TT races, Kneen died at the scene of the incident.

We are sad to report that the 2017 Isle of Man TT has claimed its first fatality, as Davey Lambert of Gateshead, England passed away this evening, after sustaining injuries during the Superbike TT race on June 4th.

Lambert crashed near Greeba Castle, during the third lap of the Superbike TT, and was treated at the scene before being flown by helicopter to Noble’s Hospital on the Isle of Man. He was later transferred to Aintree Hospital in Liverpool, where he then passed away.

Reading motorsports websites all over Europe recently, you would think it was Doomsday for motorcycle racing, and all forms of motorized sports.

Even in as august a publication as The Times (of London, that is), the headlines warned of impending disaster:. “EU insurance rule ‘will destroy British motor sport’“. Is the end nigh for motorsport in Britain?

The short answer is “No, but it’s complicated”. So where did these warnings that the sky is falling come from?

On Wednesday, the MCIA (the Motorcycle Industry Association, the body representing the British bike industry), the ACU, and the AMCA (both representing motorcycle racing, on road and off road) issued a joint press release, warning that motorsport in the UK could come to an end due to a ruling by the European Court in Luxembourg.

The ruling stems from a judgment in the case of Vnuk v. Triglav, case C-162/13 before the European Court of Justice, and known as the Vnuk judgment. The case involved a Slovenian farm worker, Damijan Vnuk, who was injured when he was knocked off a ladder by a tractor reversing with a trailer.

Vnuk was working on a farm at the time, and sued for compensation from the motor vehicle insurance policy of the tractor. The lower Slovenian courts rejected his claims, but the Slovenian Supreme Court referred the case to the ECJ.

Again this fortnight, it is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of two competitors who died in separate incidents while at the Isle of Man TT. Ian Bell died during today’s Sidecar TT Race 2, and Andrew Soar who died during the Senior TT race.

Ian Bell, a 58-year-old from Bedlington, Northumberland, was killed in an incident at Ballaspur in the sidecar race. His passenger, who is also his son Carl, was uninjured in the crash.

The father-son team of Ian and Carl Bell dropped out of the Sidecar TT Race 1, after circulating in the 4th position, and were looking for a better result in Friday’s race. A distinguished TT racer, Ian Bell won the newcomers trophy in 1995, and had five podiums in his TT career, including a race win in 2003.

The day’s other fatality Andrew Soar, was a 32-year-old from Loughborough in Leicestershire. Andrew died at an incident at Keppel Gate.

He was an experienced TT competitor, and made his debut at the Isle of Man in the 2013 Manx Grand Prix, where he finished second in the Newcomers A and Senior MGP races.

He would go on to win the Senior MGP the next year, and make his Isle of Man TT debut in 2015. This year, Andrew retired in Lap 2 from the Superbike TT, though he would go on to finis 39th in the Supersport TT Race 1, 47th in the Superstock TT, and 32nd in the Supersport TT Race 2.

The TT paddock surely feels the loss of their presence today. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Ian and Andrew’s family, friends, and fans.

It is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of two competitors who died in separate incidents while at the Isle of Man TT. Dwight Beare died during today’s Sidecar TT Race 1, and Paul Shoesmith who died during this evening’s solo-class practice sessions.

Dwight Beare was a 27-year-old from Melbourne, Australia who moved to Onchan on the Isle of Man. While competing in the Sure Sidecar 1 TT, Beare unfortuantely did not survive a crash near Rhencullen, the race was red-flagged immediately after the crash.

Beare’s sidecar passenger, Benjamin Binns, was airlifted from the crash site to Nobles Hospital, and thankfully is reported to have only a fractured ankle.

Later that day, 50-years-old Paul Shoesmith from Poynton, Lancashire died during Saturday’s evening practice session. His incident occurred on the Sulby Straight. The practice session was red-flagged immediately following the incident.

We are sad to report that the 2015 Isle of Man TT has claimed its first fatality, as French rider Franck Petricola died during Wednesday’s qualifying session, in an incident at Sulby Crossroads.

The 32-year-old was competing in his first Isle of Man TT, though he had been a regular in the Irish Road Racing Championship, where in 2013 he achieved his top overall finish with an 11th in the Superbike category.

The sidecar class at the Isle of Man TT is about to get a pretty big change, as the ACU has announced a shift in the sporting regulations for sidecars. Already opening up the engine spec for the 2014 Isle of Man TT, the governing body has once again modified what the three-wheelers can use for their engines.

Applying the solo-class Supersport engine specs to the sidecar class, teams will have more strict guidelines on what they can and cannot modify for their machines, but they will also have greater flexibility in what engines they base their racing operation upon.

Since the Isle of Man TT Supersport class allows for 675cc three-cylinder sport bikes to compete, Sidecar class entrants can now make use of power plants from the Triumph Daytona 675 and MV Agusta F3 sport bikes.

The ACU (governing body of motorcycle races in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man) along with the Southern 100 Club (the organization behind the Southern 100 road race on the Isle of Man) have seen it fit to allow electric motorcycles to compete alongside petrol-powered machines at this year’s Southern 100 road race. Booyah!

Accordingly, Darvill Racing will be the first team to enter an electric bike alongside the current crop of internal combustion machines, and will campaign Brammo’s eSuperStock and TTXP2 machine at the other Manx road race.

The Isle of Man announced today that they will be adding the TT Zero clean emissions class to the historic Isle of Man TT race program. The Zero TT, like the rest of the IOMTT, will be run by ACU Events, Ltd and will use the FIM rules concerning electric motorcycles. Additionally, promotions for the Zero TT will be handled by the Department of Tourism and Leisure. Of particular note in this announcement is the Isle of Man’s dropping of TTXGP, which will not be involved in the 2010 series, but the DTL’s Martyn Quayle said in the press release that he acknowledges TTXGP’s hard work in the first zero emissions race at Isle of Man in June of 2009.

Early indications surrounding the announcement suggest that the decision by the Isle of Man to setup the TT Zero racing class stems from the Isle’s desire to distance itself and the historic race from the TTXGP brand, which has been in controversy both publicly with its split from the FIM, and privately with members of the motorcycle community. Given the TT’s heated history with the FIM, it is also of particular note that they will be adopting the international organization’s rules and regulations for the running of TT Zero, which could be a further indication from the Isle in distancing itself from the influence of TTXGP.