Isle of Man TT: Paul Williams emerges unscathed from crash after hitting pheasant
- Published
Paul Williams has competed at a number of road races including the Ulster Grand Prix
Isle of Man TT rider Paul Williams says he realises how lucky he was to escape unscathed after crashing into a pheasant during practice for the event.
The Welshman was competing in qualifying for the Supersport class when he came off at the Laurel Bank section of the circuit on Monday.
"I know I'm lucky. There wasn't even a scratch on my helmet," said Williams.
"If you saw the bike you'd be amazed how I am still here. The frame has snapped in three places."
The incident happened 11 miles into the rider's second lap of qualifying over the 37.73-mile Mountain Course circuit, held on closed public roads.
Williams added: "I went into Laurel Bank and there was a pheasant in the middle of the road. I couldn't do anything about it.
"It was walking but when it heard the bike coming it stopped.
"The front wheel made contact with it, took the handlebars off me and I went straight into the wall. The bike [a Triumph 675] was a write-off."
Remarkably, Williams, who has also competed at a number of Irish road races and at the Macau Grand Prix, was back in action on Wednesday evening on another Supersport machine provided by a benevolent sponsor.
"An Irish sponsor has kindly supplied me with a GSX-R600 Suzuki," confirmed the Welsh privateer.
Practice continues for the IOM TT until Friday, with the first race, Supersport one, scheduled to take place on Saturday.