The Coroner has returned a verdict of death by misadventure following the conclusion of the inquest of TT rider Mark Purslow.

The 29-year-old Welshman died on June 1, 2022 on the third lap of that evening's qualifying session in a crash at Ballagarey.

Mr Purslow, a welder and fabricator, from Ceredigion, was racing in his second TT, having previously won the 2015 Lightweight Race on his debut at the Manx Grand Prix. He had also competed at the Classic TT.

During the resumption of the inquest today at Douglas Courthouse, Coroner of Inquests James Brooks read from several witness statements including that of ACU technical official Trevor Denning.

Mr Denning said that while the bike had a transponder defect before the qualifying session, this had been resolved and checked before Mr Purslow had raced and there were no other defects on his bike.

A report from TT technical director David Hagen, also confirmed that prior to the crash, the bike had been in perfect working order.

Mr Brooks also read the witness statements of two marshals, Anthony Mason, a first-time marshal and deputy sector marshal Robert Corlett.

In his statement, Mr Mason said that he was based 10 metres from the traffic lights at Ballagarey and that the sun flags were out on that section of the course.

He said Mr Purslow approached in the normal manner, but didn’t move over as he expected him to when taking the corner and that he believed he had either applied his brakes or they had locked up.

Mr Mason added that he didn’t see the collision, but heard the noise made by Mr Purslow’s bike when it collided with the wall and that when he looked up the road he said the sun was ‘blinding’.

Mr Corlett said all had seemed normal with Mr Purslow’s approach, but that he believed he had left his banking manoeuvre too late and overcompensated.

He said something hit the road, although he wasn’t sure if this was Mr Purslow or the bike and he then saw the bike hit the fencing, while Mr Purslow and his bike were bounced back into the road.

Detective Constable Alison Parker, who attended the scene, also noted that when driving to the crash site, she had to slow down as the sun was affecting her visibility.

Despite these issues identified by some witnesses to the sun, Mr Brooks said that DC Parker had attended the scene some time after the crash, when the sun would’ve dipped further into the evening sky, while no other riders had issue in that section of the course relating to the sun’s glare.

He added that while the sun may have played some role in Mr Purslow’s death, Mr Brooks found that the racer had not entered the corner in the normal manner and had tried to rectify this, but lost control of his bike.

Taking the evidence of pathologist Dr Irving Long, Mr Brooks said Mr Purslow died instantly from head and neck injuries.

In passing a verdict of death by misadventure, Mr Brooks extended his condolences to Mr Purslow’s family.