The TT Centenary
Isle of Man TT makes it to 100
From my position behind a low wall on Bray Hill the sensation of speed is mindblowing. Every few seconds another bike charges into view over the crossroads, past the Total petrol station, under a metal foot-bridge and on down this steep Douglas street: throttle wide open, exhaust system howling, front wheel barely on the road, rider tucked tight behind his fairing to save every last fraction of a second as he starts another lap of the TT circuit.
These race-tuned Fireblades and GSX- R1000s must be doing roughly 150mph by the time they reach the bottom of the hill and disappear up under the trees towards Quarter Bridge. They flash past only yards away from us spectators, most of whom are wearing leathers, or TT tee-shirts from this or previous years' races. We sit on concrete steps, lean on railings or simply stand at the roadside, straining our ears to catch Manx Radio's race commentary above the din of the bikes.
This week the TT is celebrating its centenary in better health than it has been for years. A decade or so ago, many people suggested that the 100th birthday would be an appropriate time for the TT to finish, if it ever reached that mark. Tourism was being replaced by banking as the Isle of Man's chief source of income, the importance and quality of the racing had deteriorated, and the danger of public roads competition seemed increasingly unacceptable. As recently as 2003, several high-profile accidents, including the death of nine times TT winner David Jefferies, made the prospects even more bleak.
The TT's recovery since then has been dramatic. This year's estimated 100,000- plus visitors have brought more than 20,000 bikes to the Island. Attendances are double last year's figures; most hotels were full many months ago; camp sites are bursting. The roads are teeming with bikes of all types and ages, from modern sports machines to classics, via trail bikes, tourers and specials.
From my position half-way down Bray Hill it's easy to understand the TT's enduring appeal. There's something special about watching fast motorbikes race between the unyielding kerbs and brick walls of ordinary roads, especially when they pass so close that you can feel their draught. In these MotoGP days of commercialisation, millionaire racers and often characterless short circuits, it's refreshing to be able to choose from hundreds of potential viewing points, almost all free (once you're on the Island, at least). There's even something to be said for a sport whose top riders are down-to-earth characters who have to be back at work next Monday morning.
And the racing is just one part of the twowheeled experience on an Island which, for a fortnight every summer, is just as much of a motorcycling Mecca as it has ever been. There's a long line of bikes parked outside the terrace of hotels along Douglas Prom. Throughout the fortnight there are countless events; from the Ramsey Sprint, via free stunt shows on the Prom, to rallies for owners of bikes from Rudges to Honda's CB1100R.
And of course there's the opportunity to ride the famous 37.73-mile TT circuit, complete with its signs on its famous landmarks.
These days the urban speed limits are more strictly policed than in the past, and any penalty points gained on your driving licence are valid on the UK mainland. More usefully the limit-free Mountain section of the circuit is now one-way throughout the fortnight, rather than just on Mad Sunday, adding to safety as well as to the thrill of riding this fast and open road.
The front page of the Isle of Man Examiner is still screaming about the "Visiting biker killed" and "66 collisions" (mostly minor) in its Race Week edition. But the mist and rain that caused the Superbike race to be postponed on Saturday helped keep casualties to about the same level as last year, despite the extra bikes. And the weather is much improved next day, when the Superbikes finally blast away from the start line on the Glencrutchery Road, in front of the old scoreboard on which places are recorded by a guy with a paintbrush, plus a group of schoolboys who stick up numbers to count laps in time-honoured style.
One thing that doesn't stay the same is the technology that sees speeds increase and records fall in almost every race. This year Honda's main hope is again John McGuinness, the 34-year-old Lancastrian whose hat-trick of wins last year took his total of TT victories to 11. Several of his main rivals are also on Hondas: HM Plant team-mate Ian Hutchinson; Guy Martin, another young English charger; and Northern Irish veteran Ian Lougher. Another Irishman, Adrian Archibald, heads the Suzuki challenge along with New Zealander Bruce Anstey. Kawasaki's best hope is another former TT winner, Michael Rutter.
None of these riders is currently competitive in British short-circuit racing, let alone at world championship level, so the Isle of Man's Tourism Minister is stretching the truth in claiming that the race entry is "possibly the best I've ever seen" in 50 years. But it is also true that all four Japanese manufacturers have importerbacked entries. Another top Irish rider, Martin Finnegan, is riding an MV Agusta F4 in the Superstock race, with backing from the Italian factory. Not exactly a return to the glory days of Agostini and Hailwood, but a boost all the same.
History is never far away on the Island, this year more than ever with an impressive array of bikes and riders gathered to celebrate the Centenary. Last weekend's opening event was a recreation of the first TT of 1907, featuring 100 classic machines on the original 15.8-mile St John's course in the west of the Island. The star was the Peugeot-engined Norton V-twin on which Rem Fowler won the twin-cylinder race that first year; ridden here by its owner George Cohen. Last rider to set off was current racer Richard "Milky" Quayle, aboard a replica of the "Shuttleworth Snap" single ridden by George Formby in the TT movie No Limits.
The TT Lap of Honour on the full circuit features famous bikes and riders every year; this time more than ever. Honda and Yamaha are renewing old rivalries with their respective Classic Racing Teams, both starring former world champions on factory machines from the Sixties and Seventies. Honda's, predictably, are multi-cylinder fourstrokes: Jim Redman on the RC164 250cc four from 1964; Tommy Robb on its championship-winning predecessor the RC163; Luigi Taveri on the 125cc RC149; Stuart Graham on the 297cc RC174 and Ralph Bryans on the 350cc RC172.
The little red-and-silver Honda multis look and sound fantastic as they blast down the Glencrutchery Road. The white-and-red Yamaha two-strokes are spectacular too: former world champions Kel Carruthers and Rod Gould on 350cc and 250cc twins from the early Seventies, eight-times TT winner Chas Mortimer and German ace Dieter Braun on 350s; and Canadian Michelle Duff, formerly Yamaha works star Mike, on a 250cc RD058 from 1968. Other attractions include Trevor Nation on Mike Hailwood's 1978 TT-winning Ducati, fresh out of the Bologna factory museum; and Mick Grant on his 1983 TT-winning Suzuki RG500. When the racing belatedly gets under way it's as spectacular as the crowds could have hoped for. McGuinness wins the opening Superbike race, which was postponed by two days due to rain and mist on the Saturday. Despite damp patches on the road in places he laps at over 128mph to win from fellow Fireblade riders Martin and Hutchinson. Suzuki's Anstey breaks down when his GSX-R1000's ignition fails, but gains his revenge by winning the Superstock race the following day. The Kiwi would probably have won the Supersport race, too, if his GSXR600 had fired up immediately after its fuel stop. As it was Anstey needs a push to get going, and ends up a disappointed fourth.
Comeback of the week comes in the sidecars, where Dave Molyneux and passenger Rick Long win both races, a year after Molyneux was badly injured when his outfit overturned at 140mph. But it was McGuinness who becomes the star of the centenary TT, when he wins the Senior race on his HM Plant Fireblade, becoming the first rider to lap at 130mph. "The reception I got around the course on the third lap was incredible," he says. "I remember sitting on the bank at Rhencullen when Steve Hislop clocked the first 120mph lap and now I've clocked the first 130mph. It's absolutely unbelievable."
The win is McGuinness's 13th at the TT, putting him behind only Joey Dunlop (26) and Hailwood (14) in the all-time list. In typical TT fashion McGuinness's joy is soon marred as news emerges that GSX-R1000 rider Marc Ramsbotham has crashed on the Mountain during the same race, killing himself and two spectators, and injuring two marshals. With double TT winner Shaun Harris already fighting for his life following an earlier crash, the Island's reputation for combining triumph and tragedy is reinforced yet again.
But as the visitors join the queues of bikes at Douglas Ferry Terminal to begin the trip home, the Centenary TT is generally regarded as a success. Although the event's importance in the motorcycle racing world is negligible, in many ways that's its biggest advantage. Riders race here not because they are under pressure to earn contracts or championship points but because they enjoy the unique challenge and accept the danger. In an increasingly safety-conscious world from which increasing numbers of people seek escape with anything from bungee jumping to climbing Everest, it's hard to see what's wrong with that. Here's Ramsey Sprint to the next 100 years...
Words and pics
Roland Brown
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