Fans pay tribute to popular Isle of Man TT regular Mark Buckley
Isle of Man TT fans have been paying tribute to popular Mountain course regular Mark Buckley, who died following a crash in Saturday’s North West 200.
The 35-year-old crashed at York Corner during the Superstock race. He succumbed to his injuries later in hospital.
Buckley, from Loch Lomond, Scotland, was racing for the Splitlath Redmond team, which he joined last month.
He was due to race for the team at the 2012 Isle of Man TT.
A team statement said:
“Mark joined the team last month to contest the Isle of Man TT and other road races. An experienced road racer, the North West 200 was one of his favourite events on the calendar.”
“Mark was a rider who always had a smile on his face and although he was new to the Splitlath Redmond outfit, he had already made a lot of friends within the team.”
“He was a man who was always positive, with an infectious sense of humour and a rider who cared deeply about his colleagues and others.”
“Mark will be missed by everyone at Splitlath Redmond and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Jayne, his family and friends.”
A determined racer, Buckley was a regular at both the TT and Manx Grand Prix.
Buckley made his TT debut in 2006 and took his best result, third, in 2009 during the TTXGP Pro Class. He also enjoyed a strong 2011 event, finishing inside the top 16 in the Senior, Superbike and both Supersport races.
A switch to the Aprilia run by British Superbike Championship team Splitlath Redmond had made regular top 10 finishes this year a real possibility.
Following confirmation of Buckley’s loss, TT fans took to the iomtt.com forum to post tributes.
You can read the tributes and post your own on the iomtt.com forum.
You can also leave your tribute in the Book of Condolence.