The weather strikes again for the 2017 Isle of Man TT, as Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson was forced to cancel today’s qualifying session because of a persistent low cloud layer and imminent heavy rain for the island.
With meteorologists saying that the weather would only worsen throughout the day, it was a pretty straightforward choice for Thompson, though it has been a frustrating week so far for the TT riders, with this being the third practice/qualifying day that has been scratched from the schedule.
As such, the schedule for the next five days at the Isle of Man TT has been revised, with Thursday’s sessions moved to Friday, Sunday no long a rest day, and several more qualifying sessions sprinkled throughout the calendar.
The big news though is that the race schedule for the remainder of this year’s Isle of Man TT has been modified as well, with the Junior TT now kicking off on Sunday, the Sidecar Race 1 moved to Monday, and the Superstock TT race moved to Tuesday.
Last year saw the Isle of Man TT distilled into a rivalry between Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson. They arrive on the island this year to once again take center stage.
The rivalry between Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson defined last year’s TT, and that is because the duo shared the five wins between each other, but at times it seemed as though shared respect was in short supply.
Last year with both riders using BMW machinery for the big bikes, and the Yamaha YZF-R6 in the supersport class, there was no where to hide at the end of races. It simply came down to preparation and execution, and last year the score was 3-2 in Hutchinson’s favor.
The man who won an incredible, and unmatched, five races at the 2010 festival is once again the man to beat this year, as he continues to ride for the crack Tyco BMW squad, with Dunlop making the switch to Suzuki to ride their all-new GSX-R1000.
It’s more troubling weather for the 2017 Isle of Man TT, after Saturday’s opening session was cancelled, now we see Monday night’s qualifying sessions cancelled as well, all because of fog and rain on the course.
According to Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson, Monday’s sessions were cancelled because of a thick fog between Gutheries and Kate’s Cottage. There was also heavy rain on the Mountain section of the course.
Neither conditions showed signs of improving in time for the evening’s sessions, necessitating the cancellation of the day’s events.
The 2017 Isle of Man TT is finally underway…sort of. The iconic road race had to scratch its opening session, as the fog rolled into the island nation, making the visibility on the lower parts of the course too difficult for motorcycles to run.
This left Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson no option but to cancel the opening qualifying session, leaving Monday to be the true start of the TT sessions, thus delaying our pleasure for proper road racing on the Manx island.
John McGuinness came away from this year’s North West 200 battered and bruised, with the Honda Racing rider suffering a compound fracture to his right leg, along with a set of broken ribs and four fractured vertebrae, after crashing during the superbike practice.
The injuries have ruled McGuinness out of this year’s Isle of Man TT, which is only 10 days away at this point in time. Still in the hospital, awaiting an external fixture to hold his broken leg together, McGuinness will also have to wear a back brace for the next six weeks.
Reaching out to his fans, through a statement from the Honda road racing team, McGuinness has expressed his thanks for all the well wishes from fans and the road racing community, and confirms that for this year’s TT, the best he can hope for is to be a spectator.
You can read the full statement from John McGuinness, after the jump.
The focus for electric motorcycles at the Isle of Man TT may center around Team Mugen’s dual entry with John McGuinness and Guy Martin, but one should not overlook this very attractive entry from Belgium.
Saroléa is back for the 2017 Isle of Man TT, continuing with its state-of-the-art carbon fiber chassis goodness and retro fairing design. On board will once again be Dean Harrison, who will be gunning for a podium-finish on the 2017 Saroléa SP7.
If looks alone could get you across the finish line, then Saroléa would have our vote. The Belgians have always been in the running for a strong result though, finishing 4th in 2014 and 5th in 2015. Maybe this year will be “their year” at the TT.
The Isle of Man TT is rapidly approaching us, and the top road racing teams are doing their final days of testing before they cross the Irish Sea. One of those outfits is Team Mugen, which has been readying the sixth iteration of its electric superbike, the Mugen Shinden Roku.
This year, John McGuinness and Guy Martin will fight for the top honors in the TT Zero race, with both riders looking to be the first man to do a 120 map lap at the Isle of Man TT onboard an electric motorcycle.
A 125 mph lap isn’t out of the question as well, and Team Mugen is the heavy favorite (no pun intended) to take the top honors in the TT Zero race.
Helping them to that goal is an updated Shinden motorcycle, which as we have pointed out already, comes equipped with some interesting aerodynamic touches that are inspired by nature.
As battery technology slows down though, will we see a rise in the importance of aerodynamic touches, like the ones Mugen is displaying (note the chevron cutouts on the fairing edges)? Only time can tell.