Two motorcycle racers have died following a major first-lap incident that involved 11 riders in a British Supersport Championship race on Monday.
MotorSport Vision Racing (MSVR), which organises the series, confirmed the deaths of Owen Jenner, aged 21, and Shane Richardson, 29.
Another racer, 47-year-old Tom Tunstall, is in hospital with significant back and abdominal injuries.
The race took place at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire, England.
The remainder of the meeting was cancelled as a result of the incident, including the final race of the opening round of the British Superbike Championship, which is supported by the Supersport series.
“Exiting turn one, Old Hall corner on the first lap, there was a chain reaction incident involving 11 riders falling,” MSVR said in a statement. “The race was immediately stopped and trackside medical services deployed.
“Due to the extreme severity of the incident and ongoing medical intervention, the remainder of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship event was cancelled.
“This catastrophic accident has tragically resulted in two riders being fatally injured, and another sustaining significant injuries.”
Jenner was treated by medical personnel at trackside before being taken to the circuit medical centre, where further attempts were made to resuscitate him. He died as a result of “a catastrophic head injury.”
Richardson was also treated at trackside and in the medical centre. He was then taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital with “severe chest injuries” but died before arrival, MSVR said.
Cheshire Police and MSVR confirmed that they are investigating the incident with the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board and the coroner.
Five riders — Carl Harris, Max Morgan, Cameron Hall, Freddie Barnes and Morgan McLaren-Wood — sustained minor injuries in the crash. Lewis Jones, Corey Tinker and George Edwards were also involved but were uninjured.
The Oulton Park event was the first round of the season in both championships. Luke Stapleford won the opening Supersport sprint race on Sunday, with defending champion Jack Kennedy in second.
In the Superbikes championship, Bradley Ray took victory in the first race on Sunday before Leon Haslam took his first win since 2018 in the sprint on Monday.
(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
