Rider Donnan killed at Tandragee

The Tandragee 100 motorcycling meeting was abandoned on Saturday following the death of a competitor. Ardglass rider John Donnan was killed during the Supersport 600 race at the Northern Ireland road racing event. The 42-year-old crashed at the chicane near the start-finish area when attempting to avoid another competitor.

Donnan's bike was catapulted into the nearby paddock area by the crash and narrowly avoided hitting a number of team officials and spectators.

Donnan was a former Irish Superbike Champion and had also run his own road racing team for a number of seasons. He had competed in motorcycling events for 20 years. Clerk of the course Bobby Edgar said that the meeting had been abandoned "as a mark of respect to John's family".

"The North Armagh Motorcycling Club extend its sympathy to John's family. We have done a lot of work on the circuit to improve safety but it's a dangerous sport," said Mr. Edgar.