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Greeba Castle

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Practice for the 2016 Isle of Man TT got underway on Saturday evening and continued on Monday. Both sessions ran under beautiful conditions on the Isle of Sun, at least it’s the Isle of Sun for now.

I spent Saturday evening around 7 miles from the start at the Greeba Castle section. I’m lucky to still be here after being eaten alive by midges.

Monday evening was spent in the sun on the mountain at Guthrie’s and the 27th Milestone. Thankfully the midges weren’t a problem, but I did have to chase away a pheasant that had popped along for a look.

Above, you will find Dean Harrison on his Superstock Kawasaki at Guthrie’s Memorial.

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.

We were treated to perfect conditions for Tuesday evenings practice and after a bit of deliberation I decided to go to the Greeba Castle section of the course.

Greeba Castle is a tight S-bend lined with trees and Manx stone walls. The riders have been flat on the stop for two or three miles before breaking hard into this section. The first left-hander is taken quite slowly before they drive through the right-hander and out into a pocket of sunlight, before disappearing out of sight and onto the Alpine section.

I hadn’t photographed there before, in truth I had been put off a little as I’d heard it was tricky as you are perched on top of 5 1/2 foot wall. As the sun was shining I decided it was the perfect night to go and try it out.

The stories I’d been told of the wall were not exaggerated, and not being as mobile as I once was once took a few attempts to get up. You might be thinking that 5 1/2 feet doesn’t sound very much, but when you are sitting on it, planning an escape route, it looks like 10 feet.

Thankfully I didn’t have to throw myself from the wall, the only problem encountered where the dreaded Manx Midges. My head has started itching again as I begin to think about the little bastards.