Isle of Man TT rider who hit a pheasant admits: “I’m lucky, if you saw the bike"

Paul Williams, who crashed after hitting a pheasant at the 2023 Isle of Man TT, has recalled the terror of his crash and admitted he was lucky to be unhurt.
Isle of Man TT rider who hit a pheasant admits: “I’m lucky, if you saw the bike

Williams came off his bike on Monday during qualifying for the Supersport class when he collided with the bird - narrowly avoiding disaster.

His bike was destroyed - and so was the pheasant - but Williams walked away from the incident.

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"I know I'm lucky,” he told the BBC

“There wasn't even a scratch on my helmet.

"If you saw the bike you'd be amazed how I am still here. 

“The frame has snapped in three places.

"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 was a write-off."

Even without his Triumph 675, Williams returned to the famous course 48 hours later.

"An Irish sponsor has kindly supplied me with a GSX-R600 Suzuki," he revealed!

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