Allister MacSorley (left) with his father, Dr Fred MacSorley, at the Ulster Grand Prix.

The son of retired Irish road racing ‘Flying Doctor’ Fred MacSorley was injured in a serious incident during Saturday’s Armoy Road Races in County Antrim.

Race paramedic Allister MacSorley, a member of the MCUI Medical Team, was involved in a collision on the course with a medical van on the Lagge Road.

He was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast by the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance, although his injuries have been described as ‘non life-threatening’.

On Saturday afternoon, Armoy Clerk of the Course Bill Kennedy told the News Letter:

“As I understand it, although this was a serious incident, his injuries are recoverable and (not life-threatening), as I understand it.

“We wish Allister a speedy recovery and obviously my thoughts go out to Doctor Fred and his whole family. It was something they didn’t need and certainly we didn’t need it either at Armoy, but sadly these things happen.

“It was a non-racing incident and road conditions were greasy at the time. It was just a riding incident, which can happen to anybody at any time, and unfortunately it happened to Allister.”

Lurgan GP Dr Fred MacSorley retired from his role as a travelling doctor at Irish road race meetings last year.

In 2015, his colleague – esteemed doctor John Hinds, an anaesthetist at Craigavon Hospital in County Armagh – was killed in an incident at the Skerries 100 near Dublin.


The Armoy races were abandoned on Saturday on safety grounds due to heavy rain.

Kyle White