Steve Mercer is in a “critical but stable” condition following an incident involving a course car during last night’s Isle of Man TT qualifying session.
Mercer was heading back to the TT Grandstand after the red flag was brought out for Dan Kneen’s fatal accident at Churchtown. A course car was on the way to the crash scene when it collided with Mercer.
The Jackson Racing rider was airlifted to Noble’s Hospital on the island before being transferred to Liverpool overnight for further treatment, where it has since been confirmed that he is in a critical but stable condition.
Race organisers ACU Events Ltd have confirmed an investigation is ongoing into the circumstances of the incident. They released a statement earlier today which read:
“Isle of Man TT Races organisers ACU Events Ltd have confirmed that Steve Mercer, 36, from Maidstone, Kent, the rider involved in a collision with a course car at Ballacrye during last night’s Superbike qualifying session, is in a critical but stable condition after being transferred from the Isle of Man to Liverpool.
“ACU Events Ltd has confirmed that there is an ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.”
Mercer signed a last-minute team to ride for the Jackson Racing team at this year’s TT after Ian Hutchinson was medically cleared to compete for the Honda Racing team. Mercer had been testing with the Honda Racing team prior to the announcement. The 36-year-old had initially retired from road racing last year following a practice session crash during the TT.
Jackson Racing also released a statement this morning, which read:
“Our thoughts are with Steve, Caroline, Daniel, Alex and family. Steve was flown off the island late last night to receive further assessments and treatment following an incident on his way back to the Grandstand.”
Wednesday’s practice session was cancelled following the two incidents.
