Experienced TT competitor Sam West has withdrawn from this year’s event because of mechanical problems with two of his bikes.

The 37-year-old from Congleton was entered in all four solo classes, but he posted on social media on Saturday morning to reveal he’d decided to step back from the event because of an electrical fault with his Supersport bike and an issue with the engine of his 1,000cc machine.

Explaining his decision to pull out of event, West, who has a best finish of eighth in the 2018 Superstock TT, said: ‘I arrived on the back foot this year after a tricky North West 200 where the Ducati Supersport developed an intermittent electrical fault, and a small crash on the BMW in the last race damaged the engine.

‘With no time between events to test and repair, those problems came with me to the Isle of Man.

‘We've given it everything to resolve the issues, worked relentlessly to get sorted, but qualifying is over, time is up.

‘The next-gen Supersport electronics has an issue and needs new parts, and we need a spare engine for BMW.

‘This is my 10th TT and after so much potential shown in testing on the new bikes I really thought this year I was back where I wanted to be, but the TT is a fickle thing and the slightest problem can derail the whole job.

‘After speaking with the organisers and sponsors, I have decided the only option is to step back this year and retire from TT26.

‘We'll now focus on getting sorted for the remaining road races, Armoy, Southern 100 and Macau Grand Prix.

‘Huge thanks to my understanding crew and my sponsors for all their support.’