Tragic TT rider Davy Morgan remembered: ‘A very quiet man – you’d never imagine he could go 200mph’

Mr Morgan, aged 52, became the third person to die during races in the Isle of Man in the last few days (the other fatalities were Welsh rider Mark Purslow and French sidecar passenger Olivier Lavorel).

UUP councillor Robert Burgess said Mr Morgan had been racing “since he sat up”.

He told the News Letter: “There’s not words to actually express my feelings. I knew Davy my lifetime.

“I’m a wee bit older than him but I had many discussions about motorbikes and about many, many types of engines and all that goes along with it.”

Mr Morgan’s family used to own the local garage – known as Manus’s.

He was involved with Saintfield’s First Presbyterian Church, and had helped fundraise for charity.

He was a father, and his partner is called Trudy.

Mr Morgan was “a very quiet fella – you wouldn’t know he was there” councillor Burgess added.

“He wasn’t the type of guy you’d reckon could’ve gone 200mph. He was just that quiet, reserved fella. That was just the type of him.

“He’d prefer not to be on the podium – if he could hide behind the podium, he probably would have done that.

“He liked to win but he wasn’t for [the] front line in any way.

“A great guy to know. He’d have helped anybody, done anything for anybody.”

Summing him up, he described him as “one in a million – and just loved those motorbikes”.

Back in 2016, Mr Morgan had described his two favourite events of the year as being the Ulster Grand Prix and Isle of Man TT.

Mr Morgan had nearly given up racing recently.

He told the News Letter last year: “I’ve actually been contemplating quitting road racing for the past couple of years, but Covid has given me the opportunity to see what it would be like without motorbikes.

“I’m glad I had that chance because if I had decided that I was finished and sold the bikes and everything else, I’d have been kicking myself.”

It is understood that some of his family are still in the Isle of Man at time of writing, and will journey back later this week.

Meanwhile Karen McLaughlin sent a message to the News Letter from her and her family (Finbarr, Rosaleen, Karen and Daryl) saying: “Davy was a lovely neighbour, Lovely person, he was a pleasure to know, helpful will be greatly missed, much love to Trudy and all his family.”

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