Death of MGP competitor deemed accidental by inquest

Louis O'Regan sustained fatal injuries in incident at Kate's Cottage

*A warning that this story contains information which readers may find upsetting.

A verdict of accidental death has been recorded at the inquest of a motorcycle racer who died during the opening day of the 2024 Manx Grand Prix.

Louis O’Regan was killed as a result of ‘multiple injuries’ sustained during the first qualifying session of the event on 18 August.

The incident occurred at Kate’s Cottage just before 5pm, hours after a similar accident saw local rider Jamie Williams crash in the same area.

Recording her verdict at Douglas Courthouse today (13 March) Deputy Coroner of Inquests Rebecca Cubbon said the 43-year-old was a ‘very experienced’ rider, and his fatal accident did not happen ‘due to rider error or mechanical defect’ - but rather due to a wet patch on the circuit.

Over two days of evidence earlier this week, the court heard from Mr Williams, marshals, police, the deputy clerk of the course, and Department of Infrastructure employees.

You can read what happened on Monday (9 March) HERE and on Tuesday (10 March) HERE.

A picture soon emerged that showed Mr O’Regan crossed the double white lines in the middle of the road, outside of the racing line, and lost control of his bike.

Between those lines was a wet patch, caused by water seepage believed to be contaminated with peat, creating a yellow ‘soapy substance’ on the surface of the road.

Giving evidence earlier this week, former collision investigator PC Steffan Hoy said there’s a ‘significant difference between normal water and water contaminated with peat residue’ and described the area as ‘extremely slippery under foot’.

On Monday, Jamie Williams told the inquest the white centre line was ‘100 percent’ where he lost control, adding: “O’Regan lost control in the exact same spot.”

Evidence given by marshals also revealed many riders were ‘wobbling’ in that location on the day.

One marshal, who has been stationed at Kate’s Cottage for racing since 2022, said she counted ‘maybe five’ at most wobbling in a session there last year, but that back in August 2024 she ‘lost count’, saying: ‘I can’t even count how many I saw do that.’

In the days after Mr O’Regan’s accident, banding work was undertaken to fix the point ahead of any further racing, and further work on that stretch of road was undertaken last year.

Recording an accidental death verdict, the Deputy Coroner of Inquests Rebecca Cubbon said she could not record a misadventure verdict as although he knew competing was an ‘inherently risky’ activity, the manner in which he lost control could not have been deemed a ‘wilful risk’ as he couldn’t have known about the road condition and the impact it would have on him.

A report may be presented with recommendations given to the relevant bodies, but this is still under consideration by the deputy coroner.

Concluding the inquest, she thanked Mr O’Regan’s family for their ‘grace and composure’ during proceedings.

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