David Jefferies

Allan David Jefferies (18 September 1972 – 29 May 2003) was an English professional motorcycle racer. He died after crashing during practice for the 2003 Isle of Man TT races.

Early life The son of Tony Jefferies, also a former TT race winner in 1971, David Jefferies was born in Shipley, West Yorkshire, England. His uncle was fellow TT winner Nick Jefferies. Jefferies attended Salt Grammar School.

Career Jefferies competed in a range of racing classes including the Grand Prix world championship in 1993, and the World Superbike Championship in 1993 and 1995. He was the British Superstock 1000 champion twice in the previous three years.

Jefferies specialized in street circuits, such as the Isle of Man TT and the North West 200, where he was a four-time winner. At the Isle of Man TT, Jefferies was the first rider to lap in excess of and the first to win three races during the week-long festival for three consecutive years. three of the lines snapped; however, one came over his motorcycle's windscreen and nearly killed him when it wrapped round his throat; it snapped at the last minute and Moodie escaped with his life; however, he retired from TT competition shortly afterwards. A friend and fellow TT competitor, John McGuinness, who was the first rider to reach the scene, described it as looking 'Like a war zone'.

Later that day, the TT organisers released an official statement which read: 'It is with regret that the organizers of the Isle of Man TT races, the Auto-Cycle Union, announce that David Jefferies, of Baildon in West Yorkshire, who crashed on the second lap of this afternoon's practice session, received injuries, which proved fatal. Thirty-year-old Jefferies was involved in an accident at Crosby. The red flag was displayed at the Grandstand and all riders finishing their first lap were brought back into the paddock. Those who had already embarked on their second lap were Halted at Glen Vine. Jefferies was the outright lap record holder at the TT and had lapped at 125 mph on his first lap today riding his Temple Auto Salvage GSX-R Suzuki. The organisers have instituted an immediate inquiry into the details of the incident.' The inquiry would become an extremely controversial affair; organizers insisted that marshals had carried out the correct duties during the incident while riders protested saying that not enough flags were shown and the manner in which those that were shown did not imply the seriousness of the situation at hand.

The parade lap in honour of Jefferies took place at the end of the TT weekend. Thousands of bikes took part, filling the 37-mile course.

Grand Prix career statistics Points system from 1993 onwards: Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points 25 20 16 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Team Machine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Points Rank Wins 1993 500cc Peter Graves Racing-Yamaha Harris-YZR500 AUS- MAL- JPN- ESP- AUT- GER- NED- EUR- RSM17 GBR20 CZE19 ITA22 USA16 FIM18 0 - 0