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Are You Ready for This Year’s Isle of Man TT?

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This year marks the 97th running of the Isle of Man TT, and the two weeks of practice and racing sessions should be considered a “must attend” item on any motorcyclist’s bucket list.

The TT is a special event to attend, and I can tell you as a journalist that it is one of the more surreal motorcycle races to cover. First, there is the serenity in watching machines race on public roads, just inches sometimes from where you are sitting. There is no where else that gets you that close to the action.

And then, there is the pound of flesh that comes with the spectacle: the knowledge that statistically speaking, two racers will lose their lives over the course of the fortnight. It is sobering to know going into an event that you will likely report the death of an athlete.

Whether you are a fan of road racing or one of its detractors, I still feel that it should be compulsory to attend an Isle of Man TT before one can make comment one way or another on its continuance.

This isn’t just another motorcycle race, and this isn’t just another extreme sport; this isn’t life in the sand of the coliseum, but it’s also not going through life in the passenger seat.

There is something truly special about the Isle of Man TT, and until you experience it from beyond these words, they will just continue to seem hyperbolic.

It is easy to wax poetic about the TT – you will just have to attend one yourself to understand that. Until you do though, we aim to bring you the best Isle of Man TT coverage available over the next two weeks. So, here’s a primer of information, before we start cluttering your A&R news feed with TT postings.

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Video: Kawasaki at the Isle of Man TT

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Kawasaki had a good outing at the 2014 Isle of Man TT, scoring a win in the Sidecar class (Dave Molyneux), a podium in the Superstock class (Dean Harrison), and a clean sweep of the Lightweight TT (Dean Harrison, James Hillier, and James Cowton).

Team Green’s results may not displace the dominance by Honda at the Isle of Man, though Big Red’s TT reign is certainly under fire, as BMW, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha are all looking for a piece of the Manx pie.

Recapping its fortnight at the Isle of Man TT, Kawasaki has put together a nice video about its riders. We have roughly a year to wait until the next TT, so we will have to rely on videos like these to manage our appetite until then.

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Watch Dean Harrison Have a Moment at the Southern 100

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Real road racing fans surely were aware of last week’s Southern 100, the Isle of Man’s other motorcycle racing event. For those not familiar, the Southern 100 takes place near the town of Castletown, on the 4.25 mile Billown Circuit, and features many names you would recognize from the Isle of Man TT.

Guy Martin claimed title this year to the 2014 Solo Class Champion distinction, while Conrad Harrison & Jason Crowe took the honors in the sidecar class. Unsurprisingly, Harrison’s son Dean made some news as well at the Southern 100 (fresh off his first race win at the Isle of Man TT).

Having a “moment” going through the Church Bends, on the return section back into Castletown, Harrison gives us a reminder on the physics that surround the limits of adhesion. Thankfully for the 25-year-old, a cool YouTube clip is the only result from this snapshot of time.

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Trackside Tuesday: Out with the Old?

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With Michael Dunlop’s second successive year taking the lion’s share of silverware at the TT, a changing of the guard appears to be taking place as a new generation of riders lay claim to the podium places on the famous Mountain Course.

Debut victories by James Hillier and Dean Harrison, in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and John McGuinness’ pair of solitary trips to the top step of the podium in the same years appear to confirm this.

Before any cries of ageism are thrown in my direction, the age of a rider bears no relation to whether they belong in the old or new guard. Experience around the course is what separates the old from the new.

With over 200 apexes to learn and countless lumps, bumps and cambers to memorise, it’s believed by many who have raced it, that the Mountain course takes years to truly learn, even with the advent of HD-quality on-board videos to study.

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IOMTT: Bikenation Lightweight TT Race Results

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Friday’s Isle of Man TT racing started off with the Bike Nation Lightweight TT, where the field is comprised of two-cylinder four-stroke machines that cannot have more than 650cc in engine capacity — as such, the field is dominated by Kawasaki Ninja 650 sport bikes.

A race fit for grooming the future talent of the Isle of Man TT, the Lightweight TT sees the big name stars in its ranks as well, though the field is comprised mostly of greener riders. One man noticeably absent from the Lightweight TT grid was Michael Dunlop, who decided to sit out the race and focus on the day’s later race, the blue-ribbon event, the Senior TT.

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IOMTT: Royal London 360 Superstock TT Race Results

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Motorcycle road racing resumed on Tuesday, after the weather gave an early end to Monday’s events, and accordingly riders geared up their more street-going machines for the Superstock TT race.

A perfect day for racing, things got off to a rocky start, as a accident on the course (before the roads were closed to traffic) caused a delay to the Superstock start.

That news would be a bad omen, as the fatal crash of Karl Harris during the race halted the rest of the day’s events, leaving the Superstock TT as the sole spectacle for Tuesday.

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IOMTT: Lightweight TT Race Results

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A stark contrast to the Senior TT that it precedes, the Isle of Man TT’s Lightweight TT race is comprised of 650cc twins, and the field is dominated by a sea of Kawasaki race bikes. A few competitors try different machinery, Suzuki’s mainly, though a couple Chinese models can be spotted in the paddock.

To be truly competitive in the Lightweight TT though, you need to be on one of Ryan Farquhar’s race-prepped bikes, which draws a small circle on the number of true contender’s for the class’s podium spots.

This prospect left Michael Dunlop to withdraw from the Lightweight TT, prefering to concentrate his energy in securing a clean sweep of the five main solo races in the 2013 Isle of Man TT.

Should he win the Senior TT, he would accomplish a feat only ever achieved by Ian Hutchinson — so we can’t fault him for his absence. This still left a strong grid in the Lightweight TT class. Race spoilers after the jump.

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