Dan Kneen's death 'a racing incident'

Inquest concluded this morning

The inquest into the death of Manx road racer Dan Kneen was concluded this morning, and Coroner John Needham recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.

The 30-year-old from Onchan lost his life in what was described as a 'racing incident', at Churchtown during practice for the TT races on 30 May last year.

This inquiry had been adjourned from September, when Coroner of Inquests John Needham chose to seek further evidence.

That action was taken after the rider's family questioned why telemetry data from his Tyco BMW Superbike hadn't been examined.

Dan's father Richard believed the information would show whether there were any problems with the bike which may have contributed to the incident.

Evidence from marshals at the scene, scrutineers and medical personnel was presented to the court at that previous hearing.

Since then, Tyco BMW had been asked to share data from Kneen's superbike, and a report was compiled from Peter Lauche at BMW Motorsport Munich in October.

There were different interpretations of the figures presented to the inquest today, there were some discrepancies in the data, and Mr Needham said one "can never fully rule out mechanical influence".

But, ultimately it was decided there were "no obvious technical issues visible" with Kneen's S1000RR model - based upon the telemetry statistics.

It was also noted that the bike had passed scrutineering tests that day, and it was examined after the incident too - neither of those checks found any defects in machinery which would have played a part in the collision.

Kneen was described as being "on a hot lap", and although his family pointed out that his speeds had been slightly down on previous times, Mr Needham said his pace was by no means pedestrian.

Kneen was circulating around half a second away from Dean Harrison, who said in his statement that the duo were travelling at roughly 170mph at the time of the incident.

BMW data suggests Kneen's speed into the corner was slightly higher than on previous laps, and eyewitness accounts from marshals said his racing line was a little "wider than normal".

No evidence could be found of any external factors causing the incident - such as debris on the road or a collision with another rider or object.

The telemetry data also suggested his lean angle was "not especially high", and the suspension was "comparable with previous laps until this corner entry", where there was a slight lack of front wheel load.

Ultimately, it was established that Kneen's front tyre essentially lost grip, causing him to lose control of the bike and collide with trees on the side of the road.

Coroner John Needham recorded a verdict of death by misadventure, and said he wasn't in a position to reach a conclusion of rider error, but neither was there sufficient evidence to suggest any external factors caused his death.

The inquest heard Kneen was given CPR, but multiple injuries resulted in him being declared dead at the scene.

Mr Needham thanked those who did what they could at the scene of the incident, thanked those who gave evidence, and offered his sincere condolences to the family.

Dan Kneen was described as a vastly experienced racer " who was at the top of his sport.