Isle of Man TT course clerk Gary Thompson has issued new regulations concerning red flag procedures following Steve Mercer’s collision with a course car at Ballacrye last night.

In future, no riders will be able to move from their positions while a red flag situation is in progress and when they are, it will be in the correct direction under the supervision of a travelling marshal.

A statement issued by Thompson reads:

Following the collision which involved the Course Inspection Car and a rider during Wednesday evening’s Superbike Qualifying session, the following procedure will now take place with immediate effect:

A Red Flag instruction will apply to the entire TT Mountain Course irrespective of where that incident has occurred. There will be no movement on the TT Mountain Course by any rider until the incident has been cleared, regardless of how long that incident may take to clear.

The riders will only be permitted to move in Course direction under the control of Travelling Marshals at the front and rear. There will no longer be any movement of riders in the wrong Course direction.