Picture Credit: Twitter
In an unfortunate turn of events, British motorcycle rider Mark Purslow died during the qualification race for the Isle of Man TT races on Wednesday. The 29-year-old from Wales was on his third lap of the fourth qualifying session when the incident occurred at Ballagarey. Purslow had earlier lapped the Mountain Course at an average speed of 120.86 mph.
Purslow had previously contested the Supersport and Lightweight races in 2017 and won the 2015 Manx GP lightweight race on his debut. He had also competed at the Classic TT. He also raced at the Classic TT in 2017, 18, and 2019, scooping up a 14th place finish at the 2019 Junior Classic TT as his best result. His previous IOMTT experience came in 2017 when he competed in the Supersport and Lightweight classes.
Broken with the unfortunate news, the Purslow family took to Mark's official racing Facebook page to share the message which read, "Everyone loved Mark, not one person had a bad word to say about him, and that's because he was an amazing person inside and out, always cracking a joke and making light of every situation with a big smile on his face, always there for other people."
The statement further stated that Mark loved to ride, and he knew the risks, but he had loved racing since such a young age. "He followed dad, and his talent was immense; he learnt from the best. He was getting to his peak, having the best year ever with the Never Be Clever Racing team after so many years of doing it the hard way with Dad as a privateer," the statement further added.
The members of Mark's family mentioned that their son would be telling us all not to cry, have a laugh, drink for him, and celebrate his achievements. We love you, Mark, forever and always; you were one in a million, always in our hearts", the statement read. The Isle of Man TT races is being held again this year after the COVID-19 pandemic halted its proceedings.