Trackside Tuesday: A Postcard from the Isle of Man TT

Day 4 of TT 2013 has come and gone and we have still yet to see a Superbike turn a wheel on the famous old Mountain Course. Practice began on Saturday evening with the newcomers sighting lap, which saw riders liaison office Richard “Milky” Quayle have to stop on the mountain section of the course with a puncture, much to the amusement of John McGuinness.

Having spent the weekend at a sunny Donington Park for the World Superbikes I returned to The Rock on Monday evening were heavy rain during the day had restricted the practice session to superstock, supersport, and the sidecars. I hoped to catch the sidecar session, sadly the session was red flag following an incident at Ballacrye.

Pretty much true to form the forecast rain on Tuesday arrived right on cue leaving clerk of the course Gary Thompson little choice but to cancel the session. John McGuinness didn’t appear to be too disappointed at the decision as he was last seen sharing a jacuzzi and a large gin and tonic with Honda TT Legends team mate Simon Andrews.

The weather forecast for the next few days appears promising and I hope to be able to final deliver a picture of a bike on track. Who knows it may even be a Superbike.

It bears sad mentioning that Japanese rider Yoshinari Matsushita was killed in the incident at Ballacrye during Monday evenings practice session. I would like to express my deepest sympathy to his family and friends.

Tony Goldsmith is an Isle of Man based freelance motorcycle racing photographer specialising in the Isle of Man TT races. He has also covered selected rounds of the British Superbike Championship and MotoGP. His online archive is available at www.tgfphotos.com and he can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.