Northern Ireland road racer Trevor Ferguson died as a result of misadventure in a crash at the Manx Grand Prix in August, an inquest has found.

The 47-year-old father-of-three from Castlecaulfield suffered “massive internal injuries” after colliding with a hedge during the tragic accident, which occurred at The Nook section of the 37.73-mile Mountain course in Onchan on the Isle of Man.

Mr Ferguson – an uncle of Ulster road racing star Ryan Farquhar – was competing in the Supertwin event on Farquhar’s own KMR Kawasaki 650 machine when the crash happened on the second lap in dry and sunny conditions.

The experienced Co Tyrone man was holding second position at the time behind his KMR Kawasaki team-mate, Nigel Moore, who went on to win the ill-fated race for Farquhar’s team.

Farquhar later announced his retirement in the News Letter as a result of his uncle’s untimely death.

At Douglas courthouse on the Isle of Man, it was confirmed there was no mechanical issue with the Kawasaki machine Mr Ferguson was riding when the crash occurred on Wednesday, August 29, 2012.

A statement from David Park, a spectator at the scene, said: “He appeared to be in complete control but then started drifting with the bike.

“Everything went into slow motion for me as I watched him slide and hit the bank. There was a loud thump and he was thrown with the bike straight up into the air and came down hard. He wasn’t moving.”

An assessment of the Kawasaki ER6 machine he was riding carried out by Barry Stephenson of the Manx government’s vehicle testing unit found that there were no “mechanical defects” and that the bike was “fully fit for racing prior to the collision”.

The inquest also heard statements from two brothers who were acting as marshals.

One of them, Shaun Brennan, said: “The bike low-sided and he hit the bank hard and was airborne.”

His brother, Anthony, said: “I called the paramedics and air ambulance immediately and yellow-flagged the race.

“They were there within minutes and did everything they could to help.”

The six-times Irish national road race winner was pronounced dead at the scene despite the best efforts of paramedics to revive him.

The Coroner of Inquests, John Needham, recorded a verdict of misadventure and offered his condolences to Mr Ferguson’s widow Doris and family, saying: “He loved the event and he loved racing.

“His death is a tragic loss to the sport and I send my condolences to his family.”



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