Isle of Man TT bosses have admitted a case of "mistaken identification" after announcing the wrong driver had died following a fatal accident on Saturday.
During the first sidecar race, Cesar Chanal and Olivier Lavorel were involved in a racing incident at Ago's Leap during the opening lap. The race was red flagged following the accident, and the schedule was duly abandoned for the rest of the day.
Event organisers initially announced that Lavorel had passed away, with driver Chanel in a critical condition having been airlifted to Aintree Hospital in Liverpool: "The Isle of Man TT Races pass on their deepest sympathy to Olivier's family, friends and loved ones, and our thoughts and best wishes are with Cesar at this time," they said.
However, on Wednesday, they released a fresh statement clarifying that an error had been made in the identification process: “One of the competitors sustained injuries that would not support life and was sadly declared dead at the scene,” it read.
“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 statement explained that both families' had been informed. They also pleaded with people not to 'speculate' over what had transpired.
"A thorough review of the processes relating to the identification of competitors will take place in due course," the continued. "Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of both Olivier and Cesar at this truly devastating time. We ask that people do not speculate on social media.”
Lavorel, from Sillingy, and Chanel were debutants at the event on the Mountain Course. However, the duo were vastly experienced together, regularly competing in the French F1 and F2 National Sidecar Championships and notching a string of podium finishes.
