Dan Kneen

Daniel Richard Kneen (26 June 1987 – 30 May 2018) was a professional motorcycle racer from Douglas, Isle of Man.

In 2008, Kneen became the first rider to win a hat-trick at the Manx Grand Prix.

He was fourth in the 2009 Metzeler National Superstock 600 cc Championship, winning a race at Oulton Park.

Also in 2009, Kneen made his bow at the Isle of Man TT with the Marks Bloom Racing team, taking a top-ten finish in the Superstock TT.

The following year, Kneen acquired financial support from Manx Gas ahead of the 2010 Isle of Man TT, continuing with the Marks Bloom Racing outfit.

At the event, Kneen took three top-ten finishes, including his first top-five result with a fifth-place finish in the first Supersport Junior TT race, 48 seconds down on race winner Ian Hutchinson.

Kneen was also the fastest newcomer at August's Ulster Grand Prix, lapping at 129.254 mph during the first Superbike race.

On the short-circuits, Kneen finished second in the 2010 British Supersport Championship's privateers' championship, winning at Thruxton and Croft.

Alongside his road racing commitments, for the 2011 season, Kneen moved into the Evolution Cup class of the British Superbike Championship, riding a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R for Marks Bloom Racing.

Kneen missed much of the early BSB campaign due to injuries sustained from an accident at RAF Jurby, returning at the North West 200 road races; racing at that event was ultimately cut short due to bad weather.

Kneen scored class points in eight races with a best finish of fourth at Brands Hatch, as he finished twelfth in the final Evolution Cup standings.

Kneen's fourth place class finish – thirteenth place overall – also allowed him to score three points towards the overall British Superbike Championship.

At the Isle of Man TT, Kneen took top-ten placings in the first Supersport race (sixth) and the Superstock race (seventh).

Just like in 2011, Kneen missed the early portion of his British championship campaign – remaining in Superstock 1000 – and the North West 200, due to injuries sustained from an accident at RAF Jurby.

He returned to competition at the Isle of Man TT, finishing five out of the six races he started, with a best result of eleventh place in the first Supersport race.

While competing at July's Southern 100, Kneen crashed out on the final corner of the Supersport race, suffering a broken elbow.

Following recovery, Kneen returned to the roads at November's Macau Grand Prix; he qualified in tenth position but failed to start the race, after a mechanical issue on the formation lap.

On his way to finishing 12th in the Senior TT, Kneen had a high-speed tank-slapper on the exit of the Rhencullen section of the circuit.

For the 2012 season, Kneen committed to a fourth campaign for Marks Bloom Racing – with the team now using Suzuki machinery with technical assistance from the main Suzuki road racing team, TAS Racing.

Kneen endured a tough season on the short circuits in the Superstock 1000 class, recording a single points-scoring finish of 12th place at Oulton Park in May.

On the roads in Northern Ireland, Kneen achieved a pair of eighth-place finishes in the Supersport races at May's North West 200, and four top-ten finishes at the Ulster Grand Prix in August.

For the first time since he started competing at the Isle of Man TT, Kneen was unable to record a top-ten finish, with a best result of eleventh in the Superbike TT.

He crashed out of the first Supersport race, after he was highsided off the bike on the exit from Governor's Dip onto the Glencrutchery Road; he suffered a back injury in the crash, which ruled him out of racing until the Ulster Grand Prix.

At the end of the season, Kneen returned to the Macau Grand Prix, recording a ninth-place finish.

Kneen remained with Marks Bloom Racing into 2013, with the team continuing to use Suzukis for the road racing campaign.

After the championship had ended, Kneen then made his début at the Macau Grand Prix in November, where he finished 14th.

After five years with Marks Bloom Racing, Kneen moved to the Northern Irish Burrows Engineering Racing team, run by former TT competitor John Burrows, for the 2014 season.

He made his début for the team at the Cookstown 100 races in April, where he won the race on corrected times from the second wave of starting riders, having qualified in eleventh position.

He followed this up the following weekend, at the Tandragee 100, with victories in the Open and main Superbike races, leading into the North West 200 international meeting.

At the event, Kneen had one top-ten finish, coming in the Saturday Superstock race.

Moving on to the Isle of Man TT in June, Kneen had three top-ten finishes, with a best of seventh place in the Superstock race.

Following the TT, Kneen took a pair of victories at the Kells Road Races in County Meath, four podiums at the Dungannon and District Motorcycle Club's Bush Road Races, and a victory in the main Superbike race at the Skerries 100.

Later in July, Kneen again recorded four podium finishes at a race meeting, at the Southern 100; in the process of doing so, Kneen recorded the fastest lap of the Billown Circuit by a Manx rider, lapping at 113.044 mph during the Senior race – surpassing Conor Cummins' previous best speed.

Kneen added a victory at the Walderstown Race of the South meeting, and a third-place finish at the Armoy Road Races, to seal the Ulster Superbike Championship.

In preparation for August's Ulster Grand Prix, Kneen finalised the Irish Superbike Championship with a victory in the Faugheen 50, where he also won the Supersport race.

At the Ulster Grand Prix, Kneen took his first international road race victory, winning the opening race of the day, the Superstock event.

In the race, Kneen battled Dean Harrison and Bruce Anstey for the lead, with the trio trading the race lead throughout; on the final lap, Kneen went round the outside of Harrison on the penultimate corner, and was able to fend him off to the timing line.

Kneen's winning margin of 0.001 seconds over Harrison was the closest in Ulster Grand Prix history.

Kneen was a race winner at the Manx Grand Prix (three times) and the Ulster Grand Prix, and finished on the podium at the 2017 Isle of Man TT, in the Superstock race.

Kneen died of multiple injuries after an accident during qualifying for the 2018 Isle of Man TT, the 147th competitor to be killed at the Mountain Course during a TT meeting.