A Manx Grand Prix rider has been banned from this year’s event after failing a drugs test.
Race organiser ACU Events Ltd has issued a statement to say competitor Alex Sinclair has been excluded after returning a ‘non-negative’ test result .
The 35-year old from Pontygwaith in South Wales is an experience rider and has finished on the podium in the Manx Grand Prix three times since first competing in 2012.
In a statement, the ACU says: ‘We can confirm that Alex Sinclair, a competitor in the Junior, Classic Junior, Classic Senior races has been excluded from the 2024 event following a drugs test.
‘Sinclair, a regular competitor at the Manx Grand Prix since 2012, returned a non-negative test result for a recreational drug in a random drugs test carried out as part of the event’s drug and alcohol screening protocols, and has been excluded from the event with immediate effect.’
The matter has now been referred to the governing body which could mete out further punishment to Sinclair.
The statement continues: ‘The matter will be passed to the Auto-Cycle Union, the national governing body for motorcycle sport in Great Britain (less Northern Ireland). Sanctions for competitors caught doping can be a ban from ACU competitions for a minimum of two years.
‘The Manx Grand Prix Races and ACU share a strict zero-tolerance policy for the presence of drugs and alcohol for officials and competitors during an event period.’
The Manx Grand Prix began with practice sessions on Sunday but there was no qualifying on Monday or Tuesday evening due to the weather.