Motorcycle Racing

Is motorcycle racing safe?

It depends almost entirely on where you race. Road racing on closed public roads, with the Isle of Man TT as its best-known event, is one of the deadliest sports we rate. Circuit racing on purpose-built tracks is a different sport in risk terms: crashes are frequent, broken bones are common, but deaths are rare.

The only prospective study of the TT, published in Injury in 1993, followed six race meetings on the island in 1989–1991. More than 2,500 riders took part; 175 were injured and 16 killed. That is about 1 rider in 150 per meeting, or roughly 6,400 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary, the same order as an Everest expedition and about 15 times a single BASE jump. The fatality rate was 87 times the national figure for ordinary motorcycling.

How many riders die at the TT now?

Fewer than in the worst years, but the course still kills riders most seasons. There is no official per-rider rate, so we checked recent years against entry numbers.

Year	TT deaths	Manx Grand Prix deaths
2023	1	2
2024	0	1
2025	0	0
2026	1	2

The 2026 TT had 89 solo riders entered, plus the sidecar crews, so one death in a fortnight means roughly 0.5% of a field of about 150 to 200 people. In 2022, six competitors died after crashes at the TT. Depending on the year, that puts a rider's risk per meeting between about 2,000 and 10,000 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary. Around 270 riders have been killed on the course in TT and Manx Grand Prix events since racing began, and Daniel Ingham's death in qualifying in May 2026 was counted as the 271st. Alan Oversby, 68, died at the separate Pre-TT Classic races the week before.

Practice and qualifying are not safer than racing. Ingham, a former Senior Manx Grand Prix winner making his TT debut, crashed on the first lap of a qualifying session. Both 2026 Manx Grand Prix deaths also came in qualifying.

Why road racing is so unforgiving

The Mountain Course is 37.7 miles of ordinary roads through villages and over open moorland. Fast riders lap at more than 130 mph on average and pass 190 mph on the straights. Run-off barely exists: the edge of the road is a wall, a kerb, a lamp post or a house.

The 1993 study showed what that means. Of the 16 riders killed, 14 had serious head injuries and only 7 reached hospital alive, despite a helicopter air ambulance. The reviewers judged none of the deaths avoidable by better medical care. Among the 175 injured riders, there were 188 fractures or dislocations, a third of them open, and 170 operations on 54 riders.

The burden reaches well beyond the island. A 2024 study at a Liverpool major trauma centre counted 5.9 extra trauma team call-outs a week during the TT, with injury severity scores rising from a median of 14 to 23. Manx Grand Prix casualties were worse still.

Irish road racing (the North West 200, the Ulster Grand Prix and smaller "pure road" events) uses the same kind of course and carries the same kind of risk, though no study gives a reliable rate per rider.

What about circuit racing?

On a track the picture changes. Gravel traps, run-off areas and air fences slow a sliding rider before they hit anything, and medics are a minute away. A Swedish circuit logged 104 crashes over the 2019 season: 30 riders were hurt, 16 went to hospital and 5 had serious injuries, with no deaths. A 1986 study of Mondello Park in Ireland found injuries lower than in road accidents on public roads, largely because there was no alcohol and no cars.

Crashes are still frequent and bones still break. Elite Japanese road racers and motocross riders reported 22.4 major injuries per 1,000 hours of riding, mostly fractures. Deaths at circuits do happen, usually when a fallen rider is struck by the bike behind, which is why the risk on a crowded grid is higher than on a track day with space between riders.

How to race more safely

1. Learn on a circuit first. Track days and club racing teach bike control where a mistake usually costs a collarbone, not a life.
2. Wear certified kit: an FIM-homologated helmet, a one-piece leather suit with back protector and an airbag system, plus race boots and gloves.
3. Build road racing experience slowly. Newcomers to the TT must already have national race results and must ride guided laps; take smaller Irish or Manx events before the TT.
4. Do not chase a lap time in practice. Many deaths on the Mountain Course come in qualifying, often on a first lap.
5. Prepare the bike properly. Mechanical failure at 150 mph between walls is rarely survivable.
6. Check your insurance. Most life and travel policies exclude racing; specialist cover is needed.

How we scored it

Fatality risk (15) reflects road racing, at thousands of micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per meeting, in our lowest band. Injury risk (20) is low because fractures and head injuries are common even on circuits. Controllability (35) gives some credit to experience and kit, but speed and walls leave little margin. Rescue and environment (65) is the best factor: marshals, doctors and helicopters are on hand. Compare everyday motorcycling, at about 12 micromorts per 100 miles in Britain.