Northern Ireland’s Paul Jordan has confirmed that he will be making his debut at the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy.
The 25-year-old, who started out as a talented short circuit racer in the British Championship finishing third in the 2008 125cc British Championship and fifth in 2009, has spent recent years plying his trade between the hedges.
Having finished third in the 2014 125cc Ulster Grand Prix, Jordan finished second overall in that year’s Ulster 125cc Road Racing Championship before going one better the following year, winning the title, along with the Irish Championship, with three wins and five podiums. He also took fifth overall in the Irish Supersport 600cc Championship and was voted the most improved road racer of the year by the Motorcycle Union of Ireland.
This season saw him take a brace of top ten finishes at the Ulster Grand Prix, including a superb fourth in the Supertwins race where he also posted the fastest lap of the race. He also claimed four top fifteen finishes at the North West 200.
On the domestic scene, he was voted ‘Man of the Meeting’ at the Cookstown 100 road races and finished runner-up in both the Irish 125cc and Supertwins Road Racing Championships. In the Supersport 600cc class, he took a fine third overall to further confirm his road racing credentials.
And Jordan believes that those results are enough to finally allow him to go and take on the TT in June.
"I could have done it in 2010 or 2011, and like every young fella I thought, 'I really want to have a go at that'," he said of competing on the Mountain Course.
"But I was just too young at 19 to be taking on that sort of challenge, so after a year out of racing I came back and adapted to the road racing scene first."
Jordan will again ride Honda Supersport and Kawasaki Supertwin machinery under the B&W/Site Sealants Racing team banner in 2017, which is run by Brian Hull and Guy Amor, brother of recently retired international road racer Keith.
Speaking of his debut trip to the Isle of Man, which was organised and supervised by Paul Phillips and the Isle of Man Government’s Motorsport Development Team, Jordan said:
"The whole set-up is so professional and it's amazing how well I was looked after. Sophie Lowney, who I have to say a very special thank you to, organised all of my flights, accommodation and a hire car as well as scheduled laps of the TT circuit with both Johnny Barton and Richard Milky Quayle."
Jordan plans to travel to the Isle of Man twice a month to make sure his preparation is thorough and revealed:
“The whole place needs treated with respect. You can really see where the speed comes from, as the surface and road conditions are superb. I know Josh Brookes did about 150 laps prior to his debut year, and look how talented he is. But that's what it takes and although I'm not making any lap speed predictions public, I know what I'd like to achieve and the goal overall is to finish as top newcomer in 2017."
