Isle of Man TT rider remains hospitalised one month after Classic TT incident

Australian road racer David Johnson is facing a “long road to recovery” following his Classic TT accident last month.

23 Sep 2026

David Johnson remains in hospital a month on from Classic crash. Photo credit: Isle of Man TT.

David Johnson has provided an update on his recovery following his Classic TT accident in August, which has kept him hospitalised nearly a month later.

Johnson, who recorded his best Isle of Man TT finish in 2025 with fifth-place in the Superbike race, suffered the crash when the inner tube inside the rear tyre burst on his Manx Norton.

The incident occurred at Glen Helen in the Historic Senior Classic race, which led to Johnson suffering injuries to his right and left legs, including his left heel.

Prior to that race, Johnson had recorded a fifth-place finish in the Formula 1 Classic TT aboard the Steadplan Kawasaki ZXR750.

David Johnson racing at the TT. Credit: Isle of Man TT.

Due to the complicated injuries, Johnson has remained in hospital in Liverpool, where he has already undergone two successful surgeries.

Johnson said this regarding his recovery on social media:

“Thank you everyone for your patience with me until now. It’s been a tough month since my crash at the Classic TT…
“I’m still in Liverpool hospital after two successful operations. One on my right leg which now has a rod down the femur. The other operation was on my left lower leg rectifying what proved to be quite complicated breaks. My left heel was pretty much shattered.
“Thankfully the surgeons were happy with the result after my operations. Now to the race... Everything was going great at the Classic TT with a decent top 5 in the Classic Superbike race on the Steadplan ZXR. The crash was on the Manx Norton in the Classic Senior race caused by the rear inner tube bursting. It was an extremely hard pill to swallow, as it was a freak occurrence. No one to blame, not myself, nor the team. But on the bright side of things, it could have been worse.

“I’ve got a long road to recovery ahead of me, but I’ll recover and will arrive formidably ready for the 2027 race season.”

Johnson’s best result at the 2026 Isle of Man TT was a seventh-place finish in the Senior event, which was red-flagged and never restarted after just one lap.

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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.