Maria Costello taken to hospital after incident at Isle of Man TT

Maria Costello MBE and Shaun Parker are both reported to be “conscious and talking” after suffering a sidecar incident on day two of the Isle of Man TT.

The incident took place during the first sidecar qualifying session of this year’s event, which got underway on Tuesday (26 May) evening. 

The pair crashed at Brandish, leading to a shortened session after the red flags were waved. The session was not restarted as qualifying approached 9pm. 

The Isle of Man TT then released a statement shortly before 10pm, clarifying who was involved in the incident, along with the condition of both competitors. The statement said: 

"Maria Costello MBE and Shaun Parker, sidecar outfit number 28, came off at Brandish during the second lap of the first qualifying session. Maria's condition is currently reported as conscious and talking, with reported head injuries, and has been taken to Noble's Hospital by Airmed for further assessment.

"Passenger, Shaun, is reported as conscious and talking, with reported leg and arm injuries, and has been taken to Noble's Hospital by Ambulance for further assessment."

The 2026 TT has so far been heavily affected by incidents and red flags, causing a stop-start first two days. One rider and eight spectators were all injured on day one during an incident at Parliament Square, which has since been closed off from spectators for the remainder of this year’s event. 

Qualifying had been due to get started on Monday, however, it was cancelled due to the incident in free practice.

Day three of the TT (Wednesday, 27 May) will continue with a further two qualifying sessions, including one this afternoon and one in the evening. Qualifying will begin at 1pm with the Supersport and Sportbike classes, while the last qualifying session today will be the sidecar class, which is due to begin at 8:15pm.

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