Billy Redmayne: Tributes flood in for promising young Manx rider

The 25-year-old, from Laxey on the Isle of Man, sustained critical head injuries after an incident in the feature race, when he is understood to have been struck from behind on the fastest part of the 2.43-mile woodland course at Oliver’s Mount.

A full-time member of the Parachute Regiment, Billy was flown to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough by an Army helicopter and placed on a ventilator.

His girlfriend of two years, Hannah Wright, confirmed early on Tuesday morning that he had tragically passed away.

In a moving Facebook post, Hannah said: ‘We were told that the damage to his brain was too severe for him to ever wake up again. Even if we had waited for the swelling to go down, the damage was too bad.

‘He also wasn’t able to breathe for himself and was kept awake by machines. Myself and his family decided rather than prolong the inevitable, we would turn off his life support machine and donate whatever organs we could.

‘I am holding on to the fact that Billy died doing what he loved, and that was the way he always wanted it.’

One of the sport’s most exciting emerging talents, Billy won the Junior Manx Grand Prix last year after making his mark with victory in the Newcomers race in 2014. He was due to make his full Isle of Man TT debut this year and was also due to compete at the North West 200 for the first time.

Tributes from the motorcycling world poured in as news of his tragic death spread on Tuesday, with TT legend John McGuinness writing on Twitter: ‘Really sorry to hear the terrible news of the passing of @Billyredmayne thoughts are with family and friends at this moment #RIPmate’.

British Superbike rider Glenn Irwin added: ‘Sad to hear the news of billy redmayne. A road racing talent with a bright future. Rest in peace Billy’.

Top BSB contender and road racer Peter Hickman said: ‘Thoughts are with @Billyredmayne family and friends at this sad time. RIP mate,’ while Ian Hutchinson also expressed his sympathy on Twitter, saying: ‘Very sad to hear billy Redmayne has passed away RIP’.

Fellow Manx rider Conor Cummins said his ‘prayers are with Billy’s family and friends’ after tweeting: ‘Terrible to read of the passing of @BillyRedmayne this morning. No doubt a talented young rider. My prayers are with his family and friends’.

A post on Twitter by the organisers of the Spring Cup meeting, the Auto66 Club, said: ‘It is with the greatest sadness that @BillyRedmayne has died from severe injuries that he sustained in a crash on Sunday at Oliver’s Mount’.

Northern Ireland’s Lee Johnston was injured in a crash in a separate incident on Sunday at the event but escaped with minor injuries.