Macau GP: Paul Jordan eagerly anticipating return to Far East for legendary end-of-year road race

The Magherafelt man will again be joined in the Dafabet Devitt RC Express Kawasaki team by England’s Dominic Herbertson for the final race of the 2019 season.

Jordan, who became an international road race winner for the first time after sealing a hard-fought win over Joe Loughlin in the opening Supertwin race at the Ulster Grand Prix in August, finished 14th on his debut at Macau last November.

The 28-year-old raved about his first experience of competing at the event and Jordan is now preparing for his second trip to the legendary race in the Far East, which takes place on Saturday, November 16.

Jordan said: “I’m going back to Macau with RC Express Racing and I’m riding the Kawasaki ZX-10RR this time, but I’ve not really had much time on the new model this season.

“The first time I rode the bike was at the TT and I didn’t really get the chance to get much mileage on it because the weather was so poor. It was a fantastic experience at Macau last year and I absolutely loved it.

“The course is just mental and it’s not like anywhere I’ve ever raced before,” he added.

“I want to try and redeem myself because I didn’t have a great time at the Ulster Grand Prix, although it was nice to get a win in the Supertwin race for the team.”

Jordan plans to travel to Australia after racing at Macau as the Ulster rider looks forward to a well-earned holiday after a long year.

“At the minute I’ve got a one-way ticket because I’m planning on going to Australia when I’m over in that part of the world,” he said.

“I have cousins over there and I’ve been working hard all year and I’ve saved some money, so I just want to have a bit of a holiday and enjoy myself a bit at the end of the year.”

Fellow Northern Ireland man Lee Johnston is also entered for Macau after sitting out the event in 2018.

Johnston, who made his debut at the meeting in 2012, finished eighth on his previous appearance in 2017.

His best result was a fifth in 2014 and the Fermanagh rider hopes to challenge for the podium this year.

It has been a season to remember for the 30-year-old, who lives near Halifax in England, with Johnston following up his victory in the Supersport class at the North West 200 with his maiden Isle of Man TT success in the same class on the Ashcourt Racing Yamaha.

He claimed a trio of podiums at the Ulster Grand Prix and last month became only the third rider from Northern Ireland to win the Scarborough Gold Cup, with Ryan Farquhar victorious in 2011 and Michael Dunlop winning the feature race at Oliver’s Mount in 2013.

The full entry list for the Macau GP is yet to be officially confirmed, but record eight-time winner Michael Rutter is set to return on the Aspire-Ho by Bathams Honda RC213V-S machine.

Rutter finished as the runner-up in 2018 behind Peter Hickman (Aspire-Ho by Bathams BMW), who won the race for the third time after victories in 2015 and 2016.

Carrick’s Glenn Irwin had been planning his return to Macau after winning the race under tragic circumstances in 2017, when England’s Dan Hegarty was sadly killed.

However, Irwin says the race is no longer on the cards after his split from the Tyco BMW team.