It’s Saturday morning on the Isle of Man, and the Superbike TT is only 50 minutes away as I write this final practice update. What a week! The weather has been amazing on the Isle of Man. The track is in perfect condition and the riders are ready to go.
I commented to my friend Steve English yesterday evening that we would probably see the riders take it easy in Friday evening’s practice session. They’d had so much practice that surely they didn’t need to push. How wrong I was.
Ian Hutchinson went out on his Superstock BMW and unofficially broke the outright lap record at 132.8mph. An incredible time!
Anyway, enough talking, on with the photos, which were taken during Thursday and Friday’s practice sessions at a mixture of the paddock, St. Ninian’s Crossroads, and Lambfell/Cronk-y-Voddy.
Since my last update from the Isle of Man TT, the sun has continued to shine and the speeds have continued to rise. After spending Tuesday evening in and around the paddock, I headed out to the K-Tree, just outside Ramsey, for Wednesday’s practice.
Also known as Lezayre Church or the Conkerfields, the K-Tree has become very popular in recent years. Some of the most spectacular slow motion footage from the last few years has been filmed there.
For your viewing pleasure, I’ve also included in this post a selection from Tuesday evening’s session in the paddock. Above: James Hillier on the back wheel at the K-Tree.
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.