On June 1, 2022, road racer Mark Purslow died in a crash during the fourth qualifying session of the 2022 Isle of Man TT Races. He was 29 years old, and although it was only his second TT, it was not his first time racing on the TT Mountain Course. The crash occurred during his third lap of the qualifying session, at Ballagarey, before the fourth mile marker, according to IOMTT organizers. On a previous lap in the session, he had set his own personal fast lap record of 120.86 mph.
Purslow made his TT Mountain Course debut back in 2015, at the Manx Grand Prix. There, he not only did well—he actually won the Lightweight Race his first time out. He also raced at the Classic TT in 2016, 2018, and 2019, scooping up a 14th-place finish at the 2019 Junior Classic TT as his best result in that event. His previous IOMTT experience came in 2017, when he competed in both the Supersport and Lightweight classes.
