Biker who ‘lived to race’ killed after 90mph skid

A MOTORCYCLIST died after losing control of his machine at 90mph during Northern Ireland’s flagship road race, an inquest heard.

Mark Buckley, 35, was catapulted off the bike and across the road in the North West 200.

His wheels lost their grip on a bend in Portstewart last year and he sustained multiple injuries when he fell, senior coroner John Leckey said.

His mechanic raised safety concerns about that area during the inquest and protective bales have now been installed ahead of this year’s race.

Race incident officer Tony Harvey told the Belfast inquest: “The geometry of his machine would have been totally beyond control.”

Mr Buckley, a father of two, was on the first lap of the Superstock race when the accident happened on 19 May.

His widow Jane Buckley, to whom he had been married for three years, cleaned his visor as he sat on the bike awaiting the start. Minutes later he was dead.

“His whole life revolved around racing. I miss him, I really, really miss him,” she said following the inquest.

After reviewing a pathology report, the coroner said Mr Buckley died from extensive injuries.

The biker, a sales businessman from Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, had competed since 1998 and had taken part in the North West 200, a nine-mile circuit on Northern Ireland’s north coast which attracts riders from Britain and Ireland, for a decade. He rode in all classes and engine sizes.

The back tyre on his Aprilia machine lost contact with the road as he went around a right-hand bend early in the race, jerking him from his seat, Mr Harvey said.

Mr Harvey noted a catastrophic loss of control by Mr Buckley by the time his tyres were back on the surface, causing him to fall from the machine.

Despite prompt treatment he died in the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, assistant state pathologist Dr Peter Ingram’s report said.

Event director Mervyn Whyte said in 40 years of the North West 200, he had never seen a comparable accident on this part of the circuit.

“We carry out numerous risk assessments on the course. Safety is a number one priority. We work to make sure it is as safe as we possibly can,” he said.

Mrs Buckley said: “Racing was everything to him, he put every effort and everything in.”