Monday saw again a schedule change to the 2015 Isle of Man TT, which meant that only the first Sidecar and first Supersport races would be underway, the Superstock race being pushed now to Tuesday.
Conditions for the first Monster Energy Supersport TT race were perfect, though the 6:30pm start time meant that riders had to contend with the light, especially in the sections where it filtered through the tree leaves. That didn’t stop a great race from happening, though.
A world traveler on two-wheels, Asphalt & Rubber reader and good friend Colin Evans is attending his first Isle of Man TT this year. We asked him to share his perspective on the trip, as both someone new to the Isle of Man, but also as a veteran of the world and riding motorcycles. Our hope is that it will be an informative, yet different, perspective than your typical coverage of the IOMTT. Please enjoy! -Jensen
Mad Sunday at the Isle of Man TT is usually a day with no races where everyone, and I mean everyone, gets to ride the course together. I got out ahead of the pack this morning to record a video of a clean ride around the course.
It’s the first time the course has actually been dry enough for me to enjoy it. It was also my fourth ride around, and I’m beginning to know my way.
After a multitude of delays and interruptions by the weather, Sunday finally played host to the first race day of the Isle of Man TT.
As is the custom, the RST Superbike TT, or Junior TT as some call it, started things off — who doesn’t like seeing the fastest bikes on the Mountain Course right at the start of things, right?
Ahead of any TT, there is a ton of speculation. John McGuinness said the lack of practice played to his advantage, with the Honda CBR1000RR being a proven package here at the Isle of Man. Bruce Anstey was the first rider to do a 130 mph lap in practice, thus being the quickest to pace.
Michael Dunlop made a surprise switch from his Milwaukee Yamaha YZF-R1, back to the BMW S1000RR he rode to great success last year — will that move prove to be prudent? And then of course, there’s Guy Martin, who has said before the fortnight that this is his last TT ever.
After a three-minute delay on the starting grid, the riders were finally off for the first race of the 2015 Isle of Man TT. Continue reading for a full race report.
A world traveler on two-wheels, Asphalt & Rubber reader and good friend Colin Evans is attending his first Isle of Man TT this year. We asked him to share his perspective on the trip, as both someone new to the Isle of Man, but also as a veteran of the world and riding motorcycles. Our hope is that it will be an informative, yet different, perspective than your typical coverage of the IOMTT. Please enjoy! -Jensen
The Isle of Man TT is all about the Course and the Crowd, so I spent all of today learning about both.
I rode the course twice more and, with traffic lights, speed limits, fog, and rain, I just about beat the race winning time – from 1911.
The fog on the mountain was so thick the first time this morning before breakfast that the postman overtook me in his little red van. Well, he does have windscreen wipers, which my Shoei does not. That’s my defense, and I’m sticking to it.
My best time was 45 minutes for the 37.7 miles, and this evening Bruce Anstey just did it in less than 18 minutes. The more you get to see the details of the TT course, the more respect you have to afford these riders.
Guy Martin prepares his helmet before the Superbike practice session.
Bruce “Grizzly Adams” Anstey has had plenty to smile about so far during practice and looks like a threat in every class.
Dave Molyneux and Ben Binns about to head down Glencrutchy Road.
The weather was just abut perfect for Thursday evening’s practice session. I decided to take advantage of that and head for the mountain section.
The Gooseneck, which is around two miles outside of the northern town of Ramsey, is a cambered tight right-hander, and marks the start of the climb up the Mountain Road.
With a couple of friends in tow, we headed off with plenty of time to get to our chosen spot before the road closed. Unfortunately we only got as far as the Gooseneck as a road traffic accident had brought about an early closure to the Mountain Road.
While not the location we intended, we decided to stay put. Enjoy the photos!
The big news out of the Isle of Man TT today is that Michael Dunlop is dumping the Milwaukee Yamaha team, and its 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 race package, in favor for a BMW S1000RR in Stuart Hicken’s Buildbase BMW team.
The move comes after critical practice days were lost to bad weather on the Isle of Man, which in-turn caused Dunlop to feel that he could not tame the R1 in time for the 1,000cc bike races.
A world traveler on two-wheels, Asphalt & Rubber reader and good friend Colin Evans is attending his first Isle of Man TT this year. We asked him to share his perspective on the trip, as both someone new to the Isle of Man, but also as a veteran of the world and riding motorcycles. Our hope is that it will be an informative, yet different, perspective than your typical coverage of the IOMTT. Please enjoy! -Jensen
You always remember your first…well this is my first visit to the Isle of Man TT so let’s start with a little perspective and history for the uninitiated – ME.
The Isle of Man is a British Crown Dependency – 200 square miles of rock in the Irish Sea that somehow never quite officially became part of the United Kingdom, but is essentially under its wing; Queen Elizabeth II is Lord of Mann.
The island can make most of its own rules for things like finance and taxes, which makes it a tax haven but, much more importantly for this week, it independently controls matters of road safety. Or not.
We are sad to report that the 2015 Isle of Man TT has claimed its first fatality, as French rider Franck Petricola died during Wednesday’s qualifying session, in an incident at Sulby Crossroads.
The 32-year-old was competing in his first Isle of Man TT, though he had been a regular in the Irish Road Racing Championship, where in 2013 he achieved his top overall finish with an 11th in the Superbike category.
We were treated to much better conditions for Wednesday evenings practice session.Being the first timed practice session of the week the riders were keen to get out and put some laps in.
By the end of the evening Bruce Anstey had set the fastest Superbike lap at a of speed of 128.641 mph, on his Valvoline Padgett’s Honda.
Sadly the session ended in tragedy when French newcomer Frank Petriccola was killed following an incident at Sulby Crosswords.