Inquest hears British Supersport riders Owen Jenner and Shane Richardson sustained 'unsurvivable injuries' in Oulton Park crash
Two riders who lost their lives in a British Supersport race at Oulton Park suffered “unsurvivable injuries”, an inquest in Warrington has heard.
Owen Jenner, 21, from Crowborough, East Sussex, and Shane Richardson, 29, originally from New Zealand, both suffered fatal injuries after an 11-rider pile-up at the first corner at the Cheshire circuit on May 5, 2025.
Mr Richardson lost control of his machine and fell into the path of oncoming riders, with Mr Jenner caught up in the incident and thrown from his machine.
Medical personnel responded rapidly but Mr Jenner was pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining fatal head injuries.
Mr Richardson was treated at the circuit and was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital, where he sadly succumbed to chest injuries. Post-mortem examinations confirmed that neither rider could have survived their injuries.
Race director Stuart Higgs, representing organisers MotorSport Vision Racing, told the inquest that the first corner, known as Old Hall Corner, was not typically considered a high-risk area, nor had there been any prior fatalities at that section of the circuit.
Responding to questions from senior coroner Jacqueline Devonish, Mr Higgs acknowledged the inherent dangers of motorcycle racing, saying riders understood the risks of “injury or death”.
He said the job of race organisers is to ensure the highest standards of safety, but added that the nature of the sport meant the dangers involved could not be “eliminated 100 percent”.
Cheshire Constabulary’s forensic collision investigator, PC Andrew Balmforth, confirmed that the race track met all licensing and inspection requirements, and that the incident was unavoidable for other riders due to the high speeds and close proximity of the pack.
Evidence indicated that some riders may have struck Mr Jenner and Mr Richardson as they lay on the track, but avoidance was impossible under the circumstances.
Reaching a verdict of accidental death for both riders, Ms Devonish expressed her condolences to the families, noting that all necessary safety procedures had been followed by the race organisers.
“On the strength of the evidence we have heard I am satisfied those governing the race at Oulton Park that race weekend followed all required procedure, insofar as they had undertaken the annual inspections appropriately and they had required licences from their riders,” she said.
“I extend my condolences to both families who are not present today, understandably, and to wish them all the best for the future.”
Mr Jenner had made the step up to the Supersport class in 2025 with the Rapid Honda Racing Team. He finished 13th in the Sprint race at Oulton before tragedy struck.
He dominated the GP2 series in 2024, winning 18 of the 22 races, and previously won the British Junior Supersport and Junior Superstock titles in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Mr Richardson made his debut in the British Superbike Championship in the National Superstock 600 class in 2019, when he narrowly missed out on the title by six points, with a machine issue in the final race ultimately thwarting his hopes.
After competing in the Superstock 1000 series in 2020 and 2021, securing a best finish of fourth, he moved into British Supersport racing in 2022, contesting the final few rounds.
In 2024, he ended the championship in ninth, competing for the Astro-JJR Hippo Suzuki team.