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Motorcycle racer Victor Steeman died on Tuesday at the age of 22 as a result of injuries suffered in a crash at a race last weekend in Portugal.
Per Motorsport.com, FIM, the official governing body of motorcycle racing, announced Steeman's death.
Steeman's family said in a statement that he was able to help save the lives of five other people by donating his organs following his death:
"Something you have always been afraid of as a parent of a motorcycle racer has now happened. Our Victor could not win this last race.
"Despite the unbearable loss and grief, we are extremely proud to share with you that our hero, through his passing, was able to save five other people by donating his organs.
"We would like to thank everyone for the way you have lived with us over the past few days. We will miss our Victor enormously."
Superbike World Championship posted a message about Steeman on Twitter following his death:
Steeman was competing in the Supersport 300 World Championship on Saturday. He suffered head injuries in a multi-racer crash on the 14th turn of the track.
The race was immediately stopped so medical personnel could aid Steeman. He was transported by helicopter to a nearby hospital.
Steeman has been competing in the Superbike World Championship since 2018. He rode in 42 career races, making the podium six times and racking up five wins.
Hugo Millan, a 14-year-old Spanish motorcycle rider, died Sunday after being struck by another rider during the European Talent Cup race at the MotorLand Aragon Circuit, per the Associated Press.
Millan lost control of his bike during the race's second lap and crashed to the ground. Per the AP report, "Although a few riders were able to avoid Millan as he tried to get up and move out of the way at the exit of a turn, organizers said Oleg Pawelec on the No. 5 bike hit him straight on."
He lay motionless on the ground before doctors attended to him on the track. He was then transported to the track's hospital via ambulance and eventually a separate hospital by helicopter.
"RIP, Hugo Millan," six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez tweeted. "My most sincere condolences to his family, friends and team."
The European Talent Cup is a competition in the FIM CEV Repsol that gives teenage riders the chance to qualify for the professional circuit.
Two Costa Rican motorbike riders have been given two-year bans from the sport after fighting during a race.
Sam McEvoy for MailOnline reported Marion Calvo and Jorge Martinez tussled as they raced side by side, with Martinez leaving his bike to cling on to Calvo's machine in Costa Rica's National Motorbike Championship.
Calvo eventually stopped his bike and the pair threw punches as the race continued around them.
The Guardian shared footage of the incident:
The punishment has been handed out by the Latin American branch of the International Motorcycling Federation.
The altercation began as Calvo's bike made contact with Martinez's, causing his rival to lose balance on the track.
Motorcycle racer Fabrice Miguet died on Monday following his crash at the Ulster Grand Prix two days earlier. He was 49 years old.
Event organisers released an official statement from Noel Johnston, clerk of the course at the Ulster Grand Prix, confirming the news:
"Fabrice Miguet has now passed away due to the injuries he sustained at the Ulster Grand Prix on Saturday.
"I've known Fabrice, or Mig as he's known to many, for over 20 years, even before I became clerk of the course at the UGP. He'd been racing at Dundrod for a long time, and was a big character who had become part of the fabric of the event.
"We have been in constant contact with his team and family since Saturday, both directly and via local authorities, and I am extremely saddened to know that he has succumbed to his injuries.
"Our thoughts are with Fabrice's parents and the Optimark team, as well his wider circle of family and friends as they come to terms with their loss."
Miguet was involved in a heavy crash on Saturday and had been on life support ever since, per MailOnline's Tom Farmery. On Sunday, the Ulster Grand Prix organisers called his injuries "un-survivable".
Miguet's crash occurred during the first Superstock race, the same day fellow competitor Davey Todd was also hospitalised with "suspected fractures."
Weather conditions deteriorated as the day wore on, leading to abandonments:
Per Gareth Fullerton of Belfast Live, Miguet, from Normandy, had been a regular at both the Ulster Grand Prix and Isle of Man TT race, the most famous of the European road races.
2018 has seen multiple fatalities in road racing. Gary Gastelu of Fox News reported on the deaths of rookie Adam Lyon and Dan Kneen, who both died during the Isle of Man TT. Per Jack de Menezes of the Independent, James Cowton and Williams Dunlop also died in separate crashes.
The 2015 Isle of Man TT will conclude with the senior race on Friday, and with some of road racing's top drivers expected to participate in the event, fans can't wait until the clock hits 12:30 p.m. ET for the start of the marquee race.
Bruce Anstey finally managed to win his 10th Isle of Man TT event on Sunday with a dominant display in the Superbikes category, and the 45-year-old will have the chance to catch up to Michael Dunlop, Steve Hislop and Phillip McCallen in the all-time overall race winners standings.
His 11th win won't come easy, however, with the likes of Ian Hutchinson and Lee Johnston gunning for the win as well. Here's everything you need to know about Friday's main race.
Date: Friday, June 12
Time: 12:30 p.m. BST/7:30 a.m. ET
TV info: The race will be broadcast on ITV 4 (for UK viewers) and the Velocity Channel (for U.S. viewers).
Live stream info: A live stream will be available via the ITV Player. The event's official YouTube page will provide additional content.
Prize money: A total of £57,400 will be up for grabs, with the exact distribution yet to be announced by the organisation.
Three years after his win in the first Supersport race that put Anstey within a single victory of joining the Isle of Man's double-digit winners club, the 45-year-old from Wellington finally managed to get over the hump, putting together a fine display in the Superbike category.
Anstey, who holds the lap record and race record, and is widely regarded as one of the event's best all-time racers, had a lead of over 10 seconds on Hutchinson, who couldn't help but make a joke about Anstey's age after the race:
All kidding aside, the veteran looks as dominant and in-form as ever―despite sporting an incredible beard―and is the overwhelming favourite for the senior TT, the one event every participant wants to win.
In previous years, Anstey often looked as if he let the weight of expectations get the better of him, but during this year's event, there has been an air of relaxation surrounding him. And with that 10th win finally out of the way, he has nothing left to worry about. As shared by the event's official website, he simply isn't taking things all that serious:
Anstey knows the course better than anyone, has all of the racing experience in the world and is still one of the fastest men on two wheels, even at the age of 45. There's no reason not to like the veteran's chances of adding to his impressive tally.
Anstey isn't the only racer who will enter the senior TT with 10 wins under his belt, as his main rival, Hutchinson, managed to grab two wins during the week to take his tally to double digits as well.
The 35-year-old's story is a remarkable one, returning to the pinnacle of the sport after suffering a gruesome injury in 2010 that nearly cost him his leg, via BBC Sport:
Hutchinson beat Anstey in the first Supersport TT and followed it up with a shocking win over racing legend Dunlop in the Superstock event, promising fans that even more wins lie ahead, via Metzeler:
BBC's Stephen Watson was impressed:
Hutchinson is in the best form of his life, and he will undoubtedly have the fans in his corner as he looks to complete his fairytale return with a third race win in one week.
The 26-year-old Northern Irishman already has more wins at the Isle of Man TT than both Anstey and Hutchinson, but he'll enter Friday's senior race as the underdog after suffering multiple knocks and failing to impress earlier in the week.
According to BBC_NI_BIKES, he even considered sitting out the second Supersport race, just to give his body the chance to heal a little bit ahead of Friday's race:
Dunlop is fearless and has impressive speed, as evidenced by his incredible four wins last year, but there's simply too much working against him to beat Anstey and Hutchinson, two of the best and most in-form racers in the sport this year. It would be a pleasant shock if he somehow managed to find a way to win, but fans shouldn't count on it.
Michal Hernik, a Polish motorcycle rider competing in the 2015 Dakar Rally, died Tuesday following an incident during the race's third stage. He was 39.
According to an official release, a cause of death is not known at this time. Hernik "did not show any external signs of an accident" when his body was found. Officials began a search for his vehicle when he did not complete the stage, which went from San Juan to Chilecito, Argentina, after an expected period:
When the race management detected the loss of his Irritrack signal and was informed that he had not completed the special stage at 15:16, it decided to start a search for the rider at 15:23. An ambulance helicopter found the rider 300 meters off the route at 16:03. Unfortunately, the on-board doctor could only confirm the rider's death.
Hernik was competing in his first Dakar Rally, often described as motorsports' most difficult off-road race. He was ranked 84th in the race at the time of his passing.
This is the second time in as many years the Dakar Rally has lost a driver. In 2014, Eric Palante died during the fifth stage. Two people affiliated with racing magazine Super Rally were also killed during that stage when their car overturned, falling into a ravine, according to the Agence France-Presse (h/t The Sydney Morning Herald).
Hernik is the 10th driver to die at the Dakar Rally in the past decade.
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The off-road racing circuit lost one of its biggest stars on Friday night as Kurt Caselli died from injuries suffered during a crash at the SCORE Tecate Baja 1000, according to KTM Racing on Facebook.
Per Chris Estrada of Motorsports Talk, the fatal accident occurred near the end of the 833-mile Baja 1000 in Baja California, Mexico. Caselli's motorcycle reportedly hit a man-made booby trap 796 miles into the race, which caused him to suffer significant head injuries. He was airlifted to the hospital where he was ultimately pronounced dead.
UPDATE: Monday, Nov. 18, at 11:25 a.m. ET
Caselli's racing team, KTM, released a statement acknowledging Caselli crashed as a result of hitting an animal, not a man-made booby trap as initially reported. Here is an excerpt from the statement:
The team, who have now recovered Caselli's bike discovered traces on the machine that indicate he had collided with some animal, which apparently caused the crash.
---End of update---
According to Michael Ballaban of Jalopnik.com, locals have been known to set booby traps on the course in an effort to create some entertainment, but things went terribly wrong when Caselli's bike collided with the obstacle.
Caselli was an elite rider for KTM Racing, and he was a three-time Hare & Hounds champion and winner of the Desafio Ruta 40 Rally, according to Ballaban.
KTM Racing expressed a great deal of sadness when commenting on the loss of Caselli:
Hugely shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Kurt Caselli as the result of a crash while riding in the Baja 1000. A huge loss to his family, team and to our sport. Kurt was a wonderful competitor and an all round top guy. More when we have all the details from our team in the USA statement.
American Motorcyclist Association president and CEO Rob Dingman released a statement as well, according to Estrada:
Kurt Caselli was one of American desert racing’s finest champions, and his early and untimely death is a major blow to the hearts and minds of all of us who knew him or knew of him. Caselli was a gracious competitor, a team leader and a fan favorite. His love for motorcycling showed through in everything he did, whether he was leading his fellow racers as the U.S. team captain for the International Six Days Enduro or signing autographs for a young fan.
On behalf of the AMA Board of Directors, our staff and AMA members everywhere, we offer our condolences to the family of Kurt Caselli and thank them for sharing with us one of the sport’s finest racers and greatest men.
In addition to KTM Racing and the AMA, a number of people involved with off-road racing have spoken out following the untimely death of Caselli. Among them is fellow off-road racer Ryan Arciero:
Dakar Series commentator Ben Constanduros also had some great things to say about Caselli:
According to Dirt Bike Magazine, Caselli was a 30-year-old native of California who had just transitioned to rally racing. He was quickly gaining a reputation as one of the rising stars in the sport.
Although the dangers of off-road racing are obvious, it doesn't make a huge loss such as this one any easier. Caselli was a great ambassador for the sport, and his contributions to motorcycling won't soon be forgotten.
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Earning back-to-back stage wins for the second time in his season, Jorge Lorenzo built upon the success achieved at Silverstone a fortnight ago with a triumph in San Marino on Sunday.
BBC Sport confirmed the news:
The Spaniard, using Yamaha’s new seamless shift gearbox for the first time in a Grand Prix this year, recorded a time of 44 minutes and 5.522 seconds to grab his fifth victory of the year.
As a result, the 26-year-old pulls level on points with Dani Pedrosa in second with the Spanish duo both sitting on 219 points, an acceptable tally by any rider’s standards.
All except one, it seems. Even after coming second in Misano, Marc Marquez sits even prettier than he did prior to the race and has stretched his lead to 34 points, breaking the 250-point barrier as a result of his runner-up finish.
As far as the overall standings are concerned, Marquez could miss the next race entirely and still guarantee his spot atop the pile, such has been his dominance in 2013.
It’s not that Lorenzo doesn’t have the quality to overcome his 20-year-old compatriot on the individual basis, as was proved this weekend, but when it comes to the bigger picture, it’s all very much too little, too late.
In fact, Lorenzo and Marquez both have five victories to their name this season, but the tale of the latter’s campaign has been consistency, while the former hasn’t been able to string together results with the same frequency.
Azi Farni moved to support such claims regarding Lorenzo's evident talent:
Compared to Marquez’s tally of finishing on the top-three podium 12 times this year, Lorenzo has managed to do so on just nine occasions.
It’s in these small battles that the war has been fought and lost, tried but failed.
With only five stages of the season remaining, the rest of the MotoGP field has little to no time left if they’re to mount an assault on Marquez’s table-topping form.
The Honda Repsol starlet has been nothing short of a revelation to the sport this year, and, while attention may have been focused on preventing other, more established stars from winning, Marquez has gleefully lapped up results at just about every time of asking.
Even if Marquez wasn’t to win again this year, he still has the ability in his locker to win the world championship through other podium placements.
Lorenzo’s latest victory may have put some doubt on Marquez’s hopes of sealing the world title later this year, but it’s nothing he can’t overcome.
With Marc Marquez currently 30 points ahead in the overall standings, it’s coming up to make-or-break time for the Spaniard’s Honda Repsol teammate, Dani Pedrosa.
The 27-year-old was in mercurial form at the end of last season, but has simply failed to get back into gear since returning from a collarbone injury earlier this year.
Although one of the sport’s biggest figures in recent years, Pedrosa is yet to win a world title, despite coming close on several occasions.
Having turned to MotoGP in 2006, the Honda rider has done incredibly well to finish in the top three of the championship’s overall standings on five occasions, but he has lacked the finishing touch.
This year promises to tell a similar story, and unless Pedrosa can unleash some magic in San Marino this weekend, one would have to believe that the title is as good Marquez’s.
Not one rider could get within 0.5 seconds of Marquez in qualifying practice, according to Matthew Birt:
Despite being just 20 years of age, the starlet has been a massive breath of fresh air, winning no less than five stages and never finishing outside of the top three, save for one retirement in Italy.
With four of those wins coming in the last five events, it seems Marquez is as fired up as any, and it would be folly to rely on the youngster dropping points.
It’s that exact passion that Pedrosa seems to have lacked in recent months, sometimes playing it safe when something with more guile was needed.
Of course, at 27, the Sabadell native will presumably have plenty of time left to challenge his budding compatriot, but it’s hard to see exactly where Marquez’s drop in form will emerge from.
As far as team matters go, Honda Repsol are evidently the world’s power players at the moment, with Marquez situated firmly at the top of their order.
Bar a devastating loss of confidence, the 2013 season seems likely to continue running in favour of the championship’s current leader who, with another win in Misano this Sunday, could stretch his lead to an even more indomitable 35 points, if not more.
It’s not as if Marquez is the only worry on Pedrosa’s mind, either, with the likes of Valntino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo ready to pounce should the Spaniard slip up in the slightest.
This makes it slightly harder for Pedrosa to take the necessary risks, lest he have to settle for even less than second should things not go his way.
For the competition’s three-time runner-up, it looks set to be another campaign of close, but no cigar. If that’s not to be the case, a move must be made in San Marino, lest the last five legs be little more than a routine outing for Marquez.
