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IOMTT: Colin’s TT Blog – First Day of Racing

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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.

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Racing

Superbike TT from Glen Helen with Tony Goldsmith

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After a delay of 24 hours due to high winds on the Isle of Man the Superbike TT finally got underway at 2pm on Sunday.

I had decided before this year’s TT that I would photograph the Superbike race from the Glen Helen section. Around 9 miles from the start, Glen Helen is a tight tree lined section that would provide plenty of variety for the six-lap race.

I hope you enjoy the following selection of photos from that excursion.

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Columns

IOMTT: Colin’s TT Blog – All About The Course & The Crowd

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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.

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Racing

Video: SERT’s Victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

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No name means domination more in the FIM Endurance World Championship than the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, and SERT is currently living up to that hyperbole as the team to beat in the 2015 championship race.

Winning this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, SERT makes its tally 11 wins out of the last 15 races at the historical French track, with riders Anthony Delalle, Vincent Philippe, & Etienne Masson on the Suzuki GSX-R1000.

So strong was Suzuki’s performance, that the squad’s “junior team” took fourth overall, winning the Superstock class at Le Mans in the process. Helping commemorate that feat, SERT put together a little video for its victories at Le Mans. Enjoy it and the bevy of hi-res photos from the event.

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Thursday Practice at the Gooseneck with Tony Goldsmith

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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!

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IOMTT: Michael Dunlop Leaves Yamaha for BMW

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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.

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Columns

IOMTT: Colin’s TT Blog – You Always Remember Your First

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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.

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Wednesday Practice at Kirk Michael with Tony Goldsmith

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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.

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Bikes

First Look at Ronin’s Pikes Peak Race Bike “Oishi Yoshio”

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When we first saw Magpul’s custom Buell motorcycle, called the Magpul Ronin, we were smitten. Thankfully, the Colorado gun accessory firm spun the project into its own company, with 47 Ronin motorcycles to be produced.

You may have seen the Ronin on our pages here at Asphalt & Rubber, or in person at shows like The One Show in Portland or The Handbuilt Show in Austin, and if you did, you probably noticed the supreme workmanship that’s gone into these bikes.

So maybe it’s a bit worrying that a Ronin plans to partake in the 93rd Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which is being held June 28th. The bike question is a special machine too, it is Ronin #1 — named Oishi Yoshio, after the samurai leader of the same name from the “47 Ronin” story in Japanese history.

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Tuesday Practice at Greeba Castle with Tony Goldsmith

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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.

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