Two more riders killed at Isle of Man TT races

LONDON (Reuters) – The death toll from this year’s Isle of Man TT races climbed to four on Friday when British sidecar driver Ian Bell and solo rider Andrew Soar were killed in separate accidents at the motorcycling festival, organisers said.

Bell, a 58-year-old motorcycle dealer, was competing with his son Carl who was his passenger and was not injured in the crash at Ballaspur, ACU Events said in a statement.

Soar, 32, was an experienced competitor on the Mountain Course. He died in an accident at Keppel Gate during the closing Senior TT race.

Sidecar driver Dwight Beare, 27, and solo rider Paul Shoesmith, 50, died in separate accidents on the opening day of the TT races last week.

The races on public roads around the island off the north-west coast of England between Britain and Ireland have been run since 1907 and rank among the most dangerous in motorsport.

Including the Manx Grand Prix races, held later in the year, there have been more than 250 rider fatalities to date on the Snaefell course.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ian Chadband)