Isle of Man TT: Competitors 'know the risk', says former champion Steve Plater

Competitors in the Isle of Man TT races "know the risk but the passion carries on", says former champion Steve Plater.

It follows five deaths during the return of the event after a two-year hiatus because of Covid-19.

However, former motorsports pundit Liam Beckett described the death toll at the 2022 races as "totally unacceptable".

Race organisers said they would "learn from each incident" to remove any unnecessary risk from the event.

The TT sees competitors race laps of 37.73 miles on closed public roads through villages and towns and over the A18 Snaefell Mountain Road at speeds often averaging upwards of 130mph.

During the past fortnight, father and son sidecar paring Roger and Bradley Stockton, from Crewe, and French driver Cesar Chanal died in crashes during the two sidecar races, while Northern Ireland's Davy Morgan sustained fatal injuries in the first Supersport race, and Welsh rider Mark Purslow was killed in qualifying.

It makes the 2022 event the deadliest since 1989, and is only surpassed by six deaths in the 1970 TT.

Racer turned commentator Plater, who has two TT wins to his name, told BBC Breakfast it was the "toughest course in the world without doubt", but that was "part of the attraction" for those competing and watching.

A new safety management system introduced in 2022 was "working very hard behind the scenes" at the event, he added.

The Isle of Man TT races started in 1907 and moved on to the Mountain Course in 1911, which has since seen 265 fatalities, 154 during the June TT event.

A total of 109 racers have been killed competing in the Manx Grand Prix (MGP) and its forerunner the Manx Amateur Road Races, held on the same course in August, with a further two deaths occurring in the now defunct Classic TT, which was held in conjunction with the MGP between 2013 and 2019.

Also speaking to BBC Breakfast, former motor racing pundit Beckett said he had developed a "love-hate" relationship with the sport after seeing friends, including Robert and William Dunlop, killed while taking part in road racing events.

He said while "any death in sport, even one is deeply regrettable", the statistics at the TT were "absolutely shocking".

"To have five like we have had in the past fortnight - it's just totally unacceptable. I know the organisers try so hard to make it safer but they never will," he said.

"I think that plays a part in how the riders get the thrill and buzz out of competing."

Reflecting on the fatalities in the three-wheel class, Beckett said it was "maybe time to call a halt to sidecar racing" at the TT, as they were "too unstable".

However, Plater said: "All of those competitors know the risk as well, and moving forward they will be fully aware the new safety situation."

Both fatal sidecar crashes happened at the same part of the circuit, Ago's Leap, which is less than a mile from the start line.

In a statement, race organisers said: "The loss of any rider is felt deeply across the event. The Isle of Man Races work with all necessary services to try and fully understand all risks and how to best mitigate them.

"The entire organising team will look for every possible way to learn from each incident and near miss in a bid to separate inherent risk from unnecessary risk."

Defending the races, 11-time TT winner Phillip McCallen said: "We know there is a chance of a fatality. We accept that. Our families accept that. But unfortunately it's the love of the sport and that's what we live for."

This year's event saw Michael Dunlop claim top spot on the podium twice to take his tally of TT wins to 21, five behind his uncle Joey's record, while Peter Hickman became one of a handful of riders to score four wins in a week.

Speaking after taking victory in Saturday's rescheduled Senior TT race, outright lap record holder Hickman said: "Obviously my thoughts are with everybody who's not able to go home this week.

"It's a tough sport for that - we've had a really hard week. There's massive ups and downs with this thing, we all know that.

"We all absolutely love it for all the right and wrong reasons, whichever way you want to look at it. We all know what we're doing here. A lot of people don't understand this."