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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Alex Young

Isle of Man TT organisers admit to ‘mistaken identity’ after naming wrong French racer killed

Isle of Man TT Races organisers have admitted to naming the wrong French driver killed during a fatal incident at the weekend.

On Saturday, Olivier Lavorel was reported to have passed away during a first lap crash but, four days later, rider Cesar Chanal has now been confirmed as having died.

Lavorel, a passenger in Chanal's sidecar, remains in Aintree hospital in a critical condition.

In the statement, organisers said: "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 families of both competitors have been informed as a "thorough review of the processes relating to the identification of competitors" has now been promised by race organisers.

The statement concluded: "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."

The 2022 Isle of Man TT has seen two other competitors die over the past week. Mark Purslow died in a practice crash last week and Davy Morgan was involved in a fatal accident on Monday.

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