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Isle of Man

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It looks like MV Agusta will be making a “historic return” to the Isle of Man TT, as the venerable road race has announced that the factory-backed of World Performance Racing (WPR) will be entering MV Agusta F3 & F4 motorcycles in the 101st running of the Mountain Course.

WPR, a family-run business based in Chesterfield will be campaigning the exotic Italian bikes with the help from Chorley’s Moto GB, though it is not clear what the Italian factory’s involvement is with the racing effort precisely. According to the TT, the last time an MV Agusta was raced around the TT course was in 2007, when the late Martin Finnegan finished 4th with a 125.685 mph pace in the Superstock TT race.

Some chatter was created when the provisional 2012 Isle of Man TT calendar was published and the TT Zero electric motorcycle race was absent from the listing. Putting the “provisional” in provisional calendar, our sources close to the Isle of Man TT belayed any fears that the TT Zero race was cancelled from the TT. Now confirming the news we already published, the Isle of Man TT has formally announced that the TT Zero race will return for the 2012 schedule, along with the £10,000 bounty for the first bike to average 100mph over the course.

Put together by the TAS Relentless Suzuki squad, this short video about the Isle of Man TT is already getting me pumped up for next year’s races. Beautiful Manx scenery, the clever wit of Guy Martin, and of course true road-racing footage is a trifecta for anything good in the world. I could wax poetic a bit more, but then that would keep you from watching the video after the jump.

Getting word from our sources close to the Isle of Man TT, the TT Zero race will make its third consecutive appearance on the TT schedule despite the fact that the event is still mysteriously absent from the 2012 IOMTT preliminary schedule (as noted by the astute Mark Gardiner). With a £10,000 check still up for grabs to the first electric-powered sportbike to crack a 100 mph average lap speed, plans for the 2012 TT Zero are apparently still being put together by TT officials, and will be announced once they have been finalized.

Rewind back to the 2011 Isle of Man TT and the Monster Energy Supersport 2 race, where a very soggy set of TT riders nearly mutinied against Race Direction for wanting to start the race under torrential conditions. With only the fastest of the riders making it onto their second lap, better discretion prevailed as the red flags came out and called the race cancelled due to weather (aiding that decision was the retirement of Gary Johnson and injury-free crash by Keith Amor).

With the top riders collected at Ballacraine, there were more than a few live cameras on the gathered motorcycles, which brings us to this video of Guy Martin, John McGuinness, Cameron Donald, Bruce Anstey, Michael Dunlop, Dan Kneen, and Chris Kinley of Manx Radio discussing the day’s ride. Trading stories on how racer nearly killed themselves on the past lap and a quarter, what surprise sus in this video isn’t the content, but instead the carefree attitude each rider has towards how close they came to meeting their maker. A funny breed these TT racers are (don’t even get us started about the Dunlop brothers).

If you were on the Isle of Man for the TT, it wasn’t hard to notice that Subaru was the official car sponsor of the event. Beyond the bevy of billboards, signs, and strategically parked cars, every race or practice session was preceded and concluded by the Course Inspection car, or cars as it was this past fortnight. With no less than four vehicles making the rounds around the ~38 mile Mountain Course, the idea was pretty simple: more cars = more exposure, and it doesn’t hurt that it means more seats for VIPs and the like.

Subaru also got its money’s worth this year, as there was also a series of Subaru exhibition laps, where Manx-born rally driver Mark Higgins took a Subaru Impreza WRX STI on a flying-lap around the TT course, in an effort to break the four-wheeled vehicle record. Higgins did so on the very first day, and by the end of the week had posted a top time of 19:56.7, which works out to be an average speed of 113 mph.

This shattered the 21-year-old record set by Tony Pond by nearly two minutes (22:09:01), and of course got the interwebs talking about Subaru. Things almost went a different way though, as flying down Ago’s Leap, Higgins and passanger Chris Cantle had a 150 mph moment. Watch what Higgins called “the moment of his life” after his jump.

Before one starts a review on the new TT3D: Closer to the Edge movie, one should note the film’s underlying purpose. Funded by the Isle of Man government, the hour and a half long movie is designed to promote the Isle of Man as a tourist destination, to promote the controversial fortnight-long TT racing event in a favorable light, and to cultivate potentially new fans of the TT by providing a primer to this year’s racing action. Part documentary, part advertising, there is accordingly an agenda with this film.

Now with that caveat of information brought to light and understood, I can go on to say that TT3D: Closer to the Edge is an enjoyably great film that makes you range the gamut of emotions as it follows John McGuinness, Ian Hutchinson, and Guy Martin through the 2010 Isle of Man TT. Though the use of 3D filming is gimmicky at best, the short version of this review is that this is a movie that will end up on my DVD shelf as soon as it becomes available.

The second running of the TT Zero at the Isle of Man TT, made for the Isle’s third electric racing occasion on the Manx island. With 2011 being the 100th year of the Isle of Man TT running over the fabled Mountain Course, all eyes were focused to see if the fitting 100 mph barrier would drop as the electrics made their race today. Heavily favored were the bikes from the Segway MotoCzysz Racing team, which brought a modified version of its 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc that was being raced again by last year’s winner Mark Miller, as well as the company’s new 2011 MotoCzysz E1pc that Michael Rutter would swing a leg over. Also on the Isle was MotoCzysz rival Lightning Motorcycles, an entry from Japan, and a bevy of strong university teams.

After getting rained out on Wednesday, the Isle of Man TT took advantage of one of its contingency days, and set to racing on a cold but fairly sunny Thursday. Keith Amor surely was enjoying the better weather, as he found himself sliding down the tarmac before the first running of the second Supersport race was red flagged yesterday.

A handful of riders were favored for the top step on the podium in the 600cc class, and they would have four laps to sort out who it would be: King of the Mountain John McGuinness, win-less Guy Martin, or Race 1’s winner Bruce Anstey, just to name a few.

There was nearly a riders’ mutiny this morning at the Isle of Man TT, as the Supersport 2 race was about to get underway with cloudy skies and a damp track. With the forecast showing strong rain storms coming in the afternoon, race control was eager to get racing underway.

With most of the top riders saying they would not ride a few minutes from the race (except Michael Dunlop who would likely race through Armageddon), one Ketih Amor strolled up to the starting line and wondered where everyone was. He wouldn’t have to wait long though, as John McGuinness, Guy Martin, and other soon arrived, ready to brave the conditions.