Ten spectators were taken to hospital following a crash on the opening lap of the Senior TT race in the Isle of Man. Race organisers confirmed that while none of the injuries are life-threatening, one person has been seriously injured.
The incident occurred on Friday just after 13:00 BST on Bray Hill, a fast downhill section less than a mile from the start. The rider involved, Jonathan Howarth from Barnsley, sustained a minor fracture.
ACU Events Ltd stated that five spectators remained in hospital for treatment, with one in the emergency department. Witness Stuart Plant described the scene as 'chaos' and reported seeing 'flying debris', adding that the bike appeared to 'hit the crowd opposite at some speed'.
Another witness, John Leonard, recounted: 'I saw the rider come over the top of the hill and he lost the back end of the bike. It was fishtailing at phenomenal speed - there was no way he was staying on the bike. He slid past on his belly and went all the way through the lights at the bottom of the hill into a lamppost - amazingly, he got up and walked away.'
Manx Radio reporter David Harrison, also a spectator, said the bike completely disintegrated. 'The wheel and the petrol tank of the bike flew straight across the road - it actually came over my head, only yards away from us,' he said.
Bray Hill is one of the most popular vantage points for TT spectators. The race restarted at 16:30 and was won by Morecambe's John McGuinness, who set a new race record in claiming his 20th TT triumph.
