After a delay of 24 hours due to high winds on the Isle of Man the Superbike TT finally got underway at 2pm on Sunday.
I had decided before this year’s TT that I would photograph the Superbike race from the Glen Helen section. Around 9 miles from the start, Glen Helen is a tight tree lined section that would provide plenty of variety for the six-lap race.
I hope you enjoy the following selection of photos from that excursion.
Guy Martin prepares his helmet before the Superbike practice session.
Bruce “Grizzly Adams” Anstey has had plenty to smile about so far during practice and looks like a threat in every class.
Dave Molyneux and Ben Binns about to head down Glencrutchy Road.
The weather was just abut perfect for Thursday evening’s practice session. I decided to take advantage of that and head for the mountain section.
The Gooseneck, which is around two miles outside of the northern town of Ramsey, is a cambered tight right-hander, and marks the start of the climb up the Mountain Road.
With a couple of friends in tow, we headed off with plenty of time to get to our chosen spot before the road closed. Unfortunately we only got as far as the Gooseneck as a road traffic accident had brought about an early closure to the Mountain Road.
While not the location we intended, we decided to stay put. Enjoy the photos!
We were treated to much better conditions for Wednesday evenings practice session.Being the first timed practice session of the week the riders were keen to get out and put some laps in.
By the end of the evening Bruce Anstey had set the fastest Superbike lap at a of speed of 128.641 mph, on his Valvoline Padgett’s Honda.
Sadly the session ended in tragedy when French newcomer Frank Petriccola was killed following an incident at Sulby Crosswords.
One of the worst “summer” storms of recent memory (by Isle of Man standards) brought about a 24 hour delay to the start of practice for the 2015 Isle of Man TT.
The organisers did a great job of clearing the track of any debris, no mean feat on a 37.73-mile circuit, and the first practice session of TT 2015 got away at 18:25. Due to high winds and the threat of rain, the Clerk of the Course declared it an untimed session.
Sadly the session was brought to a premature end after an incident at Laurel Bank left petrol and oil on the track. That was particularly bad news for the sidecar crews who have yet to take to the track.
Thankfully better weather is forecast for the next few days.
The start of the race and Andrea Iannone survived the scrutiny over a possible jump start.
The Tuscan hills provides a stunning backdrop to the Mugello circuit.
Valentino Rossi saves a big moment in Turn 1.
Jorge Lorenzo looks a strong bet to continue his recent winning run.
19th on the grid for tomorrow’s race for Nicky Hayden.
Valentino Rossi’s 2015 Mugello special helmet and its impressive mirrored finish.
I was recently corrected by Ducati as to the proper naming of its pinnacle Superbike model, now that it does not share the 1,299cc displacement with the other models of that name.
Officially the 2015 Ducati Panigale R, the 1,199cc v-twin superbike is the top of the line model from Bologna, and it has some major differences from its “S” and base model siblings to fit that special designation.
For starters, the Panigale R is not equipped with the electronic suspension that is found on the Panigale S. This helps keep the Panigale R’s wet weight to a paltry 406 lbs wet (the other models tip the scales at 420 lbs).
However, the 2015 Ducati Panigale R is equipped with an IMU, cornering ABS, and Ducati’s GPS-using data acquisition system — making it a very tech-savvy package.
Of course the super-trick parts, the ones that will force you to part with your hard-earned $34,000, are the tungsten-balanced crankshaft and two-ring pistons, which come straight off the Ducati 1199 Superleggera, and are present for WSBK homologation purposes.
Rounding out the race-ready package is mechanical Öhlins suspension, a lithium-ion battery, and a complimentary Akropovi? full-titanium competition exhaust.
While we were fairly unmoved by the 2013 Ducati Panigale R, mostly because it didn’t seem to offer enough exotica to justify its added price, the 2015 model certainly fits the bill. We have 92 high-resolution photos of it, after the jump. Enjoy!
A good opening day for Jorge Lorenzo, who finished with the 2nd fastest time.
Marc Marquez suffered an electrical problem during FP1, and had to push his Honda RC213V back down pit lane.
Bradley Smith was the surprise package of the day finishing with the fastest time.
Another bike is affected by the Öhlins suspension failure, as American Honda has submitted what it calls the Honda CBR1000S (that’s the CBR1000RR SP for everyone else) for recall with the NHTSA.
In total 504 units are affected by Honda’s recall, which applies to 2014 motorcycles made between December 9, 2013 and to March 28, 2014, and to 2015 motorcycles made between October 20, 2014 and February 27, 2015.