45 Facts About Dan Kneen

1.

Daniel Richard Kneen was a professional motorcycle racer from Douglas, Isle of Man.

2.

Dan 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.

3.

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

4.

Also in 2009, Dan 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.

5.

At the event, Dan 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.

6.

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

7.

Dan 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.

8.

Dan 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.

9.

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

10.

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

11.

Dan Kneen 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.

12.

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

13.

Dan Kneen 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.

14.

Dan Kneen 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.

15.

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

16.

Dan 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.

17.

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

18.

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

19.

All three riders suffered broken bones in the accident, with Dan Kneen fracturing his foot.

20.

Dan Kneen left Burrows Engineering Racing to join the Millsport Racing team on a one-year contract, in November 2014.

21.

However, in February 2015, Dan Kneen was looking for a new deal as Millsport Racing did not have enough funding to run their original schedule.

22.

At the North West 200, Dan Kneen finished only one of the four races he entered, finishing eleventh in the Saturday Superstock race.

23.

Dan Kneen was unable to defend his Superstock race win from the 2014 Ulster Grand Prix, finishing seventh, in the 2015 edition; his best result at the meeting was a sixth-place finish in the second Superbike race.

24.

In November 2015, it was announced that Dan Kneen was to replace Dean Harrison at Mar-Train Racing, the official Yamaha UK road racing team, for the 2016 season, where he would compete in the Irish road races alongside the international meetings.

25.

Dan Kneen made his bow with the team at an Irish short circuit meeting held at the Kirkistown Circuit, finishing second in both Superbike races.

26.

Dan Kneen then competed at the Tandragee 100, winning the feature race of the meeting, just as he did in 2014, and finished second in the Supersport race.

27.

Dan Kneen won the Open race on-the-road, but was penalised 60 seconds for a jump start, dropping him to tenth.

28.

However, Dan Kneen missed both that event and the Isle of Man TT, after breaking his arm in a mountain biking accident.

29.

Dan Kneen finished his season with two podiums at the Gold Cup meeting at Oliver's Mount in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and an eleventh-place finish in the Macau Grand Prix, having hoped for a podium placing at the event.

30.

Dan Kneen continued his preparation for the international meetings, by contesting the Enkalon Trophy on Easter Saturday, an Irish short-circuit event at Bishopscourt, outside of Downpatrick.

31.

Dan Kneen won the event overall, with a victory and a second-place finish over the two Superbike races.

32.

Dan Kneen added two further victories on Easter Monday at the Kirkistown Circuit, in another Irish short-circuit championship meeting.

33.

Dan Kneen finished eighth , this time in the Superbike race.

34.

Ahead of the Isle of Man TT, Dan Kneen picked up an additional ride, signing for Jackson Racing to compete in the Supersport TT races, replacing Lee Johnston.

35.

Dan Kneen held on for the remainder of the race, and as a result, sealed his first rostrum finish at the Isle of Man TT, stating that the podium was "a feeling I can't describe at the moment".

36.

Dan Kneen completed the race meeting with twelfth in the Senior TT.

37.

Dan Kneen was signed to replace the injured Ian Hutchinson, following his crash during the Senior TT at the Isle of Man TT.

38.

Dan Kneen took a fifth-place finish in the Classic TT Superbike race at the end of the month, riding a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-7R for Mistral Racing.

39.

In November 2017, Dan Kneen was confirmed for a full road season campaign with Tyco BMW in 2018, and in February 2018, it was announced that Dan Kneen would return with Jackson Racing to contest the Supersport races at the international road racing meetings.

40.

Dan Kneen contested the second round at Brands Hatch two weeks later, but failed to add any championship points to his tally.

41.

Dan Kneen ran at the back of the group for a time, before making his way to the front, taking the lead on the final lap and won a closely fought race with half a second covering the podium positions.

42.

At the North West 200, Dan Kneen finished three out of the six races, with a best of sixth place in the Superstock race, his best North West 200 result.

43.

On 30 May 2018, during qualifying practice for the 2018 Isle of Man TT, Dan Kneen died after an accident at the Churchtown section of the circuit, 22 miles into the lap.

44.

Ryan Dan Kneen later received the PokerStars Spirit of the TT Award from the event organisers ahead of the Senior TT.

45.

Over his Isle of Man TT career, Dan Kneen started 39 races, finishing 31 of these.