June 9th
During the 1949 IOM Junior TT race, the first held under the new FIM rules, Ben Drinkwater died when he crashed his 350cc Excelsior. The distinctive S-bend corner was later renamed "Drinkwater's Bend" in his honour.
Ben Drinkwater
Gilberto Parlotti won the first two races of the 1972 Grand Prix season and was leading the 125cc World Championship riding a works Morbidelli when he crashed in the rain at the Isle of Man TT, and died.
Top riders joined a boycott of the event and by 1976 the IOM TT was dropped from the Grand Prix championship.
Gilberto Parlotti