Motorbike race riders and their fans were tonight gathering in a pit lane at an Isle of Man racecourse for the funeral of New Zealand rider Paul Dobbs, who died while competing in a Supersport race there on June 10.
Dobbs, 39, of Onewhero, 70km south of Auckland, received multiple head injuries when he lost control of his 600cc Suzuki on one of the fastest outbound sections of the course, about 11.2km from the start.
His funeral was being held overnight (NZ time) with a service in the pit lane at the Tourist Trophy (TT) grandstand, followed by a lap of the mountain circuit, the island's FM3 radio reported.
His widow, Bridget Dobbs, has asked for as many motorcycles as possible to escort her husband on a final lap of the course. A memorial service will be held in New Zealand at a later date.
Dobbs' team, Hallett Aviation Racing, withdrew from racing immediately after the crash and owner Neil Hallett issued a strongly worded statement expressing "utter disgust" for other riders who allegedly went through the crash scene at race speed despite yellow flags requiring them to slow.
"They know who they are and their huge egos will never let them realise what they did, but I do hope that someone in the organising group can bring some of these people to some kind of justice," he said. "It can't help Paul but it could stop an even bigger tragedy the next time there is a serious incident".
Yorkshire rider Ian Hutchinson, who last week made history at the TT with five wins, has since posted his version of events on the TT website, and said he went through at a speed slow enough to avoid the situation.
He said something further needed to be done about future procedures for yellow flags, FM3 reported.
"I approached the sad accident involving Paul Dobbs right behind John McGuinness and we both sat up and respected the flags. We both went through at the same speed, a speed that I felt enabled me to be in a position to avoid whatever the case may have been."
The Isle of Man Examiner newspaper reported on its website that Hutchinson was upset that he lost two seconds in another race due to a warning flag when he argued there was no hazard.
Eddie Nelson, TT clerk of the course and member of the international Auto-cycle Union (ACU), which regulates motorcycle sport, confirmed it was investigating the behaviour of three riders and that a statement on the investigation would be released before the end of the week.
