Dan Kneen was a local Isle of Man road racer who had his first run at the mountain course in 2008, riding in the Manx Grand Prix. He had an outstanding debut that year, taking three wins.
Having stood on the podium for the first time at last year’s Tourist Trophy, Kneen was one of the favourites coming into this year’s event. His performance was impressive enough for him to be offered a seat by Tyco BMW – one of the best teams in the road racing paddock. Riding for them at last year’s Ulster Grand Prix, Kneen secured podium finishes in both the Superstock and Superbike categories. He looked extremely promising at this year’s TT, improving his personal best lap to 212.848kph on Tuesday.
Unfortunately, on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, Dan Kneen came off his motorcycle on his opening lap of the Superbike qualifying sesssion at Churchtown. The session was immediately red-flagged, but the road racer passed away at the site of the accident.
Dan was a universally loved figure in the TT paddock. We send out our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends in the wake of this tragedy.