Isle of Man TT: Missed electric tram thwarts TT rider Paul Jordan's practice session
- Published
Paul Jordan in action on the Snaefell Mountain section on his Supersport machine
Isle of Man TT rider Paul Jordan's attempt to complete Thursday's qualifying session was thwarted by narrowly missing an electric tram.
The Northern Ireland racer's bike suffered a mechanical failure on a remote part of the Snaefell mountain section of the 37.73-mile circuit.
His plan to return to the Grandstand area to continue the practice on another of his machines involved a rather more sedate form of transport than those he is using to compete at the annual international road race.
The Snaefell Mountain Railway is one of the island's most popular tourist attractions, taking visitors from Laxey to the summit of the peak.
Jordan explained on his Facebook account: "How my Thursday night went, had a mechanical up the mountain, ran through fields, missed the first tram by minutes, then had to wait to get the second one, made it down but didn't make it back on track, gutted, But tomorrow we go again."
Prior to being aware of Jordan's failure to return to the paddock in time to complete practice, one of his Prez Racing team's technicians shed further light on the predicament facing the 31-year-old Magherafelt rider on the Isle of Man TT's official live video stream.
"He [Paul] broke down at Casey's, which is about as far away from anywhere as you could get," revealed Graham Parker.
"He managed to get to the Bungalow [part of the Snaefell Mountain section] and he's on a tram at the minute.
"He's going to Laxey, where we have got a bike waiting for him to get him back here to the paddock."
The best efforts of all involved following his retirement of the Supersport machine ultimately proved fruitless and Jordan will hope for better fortune in Friday afternoon's final qualifying session for the event, ahead of the start of the race programme on Saturday.
Jordan achieved his first podium finish at the TT 12 months ago when he took third place in the Supertwins class.
Among the challenges he faced last year at the race were two black eyes sustained when a bird smashed through his visor during a practice period.
The 2019 Ulster Grand Prix Supertwins winner was runner-up in the first 'Twins outing at last month's North West 200 and is scheduled to compete in all eight solo races at this year's races on the Isle of Man.