What does it take to race the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy? Courage? A cool head? How about a few loose marbles? We don’t want to cast aspersions of some of the fastest and most experienced riders on the Isle, but after seeing this video it’s clear that you need to be just a little crazy to tackle the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy.

In this video we see Guy Martin, Cameron Donald, John McGuinness, Michael Dunlop and others discussing the ride of June 8th under torrential conditions. The race was eventually red flagged because of the terrible conditions and this video is the debrief among the guys after. It opens with Cameron Donald saying: “I thought well…. that’s my get out of jail free card - that’s it used.”

Source | Motor Pasionmoto via A&R

....

0 comments

A new Lightweight class race returns to the 2012 Isle of Man TT which includes three laps of the island before the Senior TT race takes to the road. The Lightweight TT is for SuperTwin spec machines with 650-cc, twin-cylinder, four-stroke engines.

The race apparently returns after much consultation among Tourist Trophy organisers and participants and is designed to bring back the tradition of SuperTwin road races to the Isle of Man. So far it seems Kawasaki and Suzuki will participate with officially-backed entries, and new competitors are expected to be attracted by the new category.

Racing in the 2012 Tourist Trophy Lightweight class won’t bring the glory of extra points to the solo championship, but it is set to have a prize fund of over 25,000 pounds. The technical regulations for the new Isle of Man class are being drawn up now and will be issued by the end of September.

Other than this new class which, with its new regulations, is designed to be cost effective but competitive, the rest of the 2012 Isle of Man TT regulations remain unchanged from 2010. The TT Zero looks like it will remain, but the news from the IOM TT website is that: “Plans for the TT Zero clean emissions race will be announced shortly.”

....

0 comments

There are no prizes for guessing why the Honda TT Legends team is called just that with riders like John McGuinness and Keith Amor on board. They have been preparing their Honda CBR1000RR models for the 2011 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy after a season of endurance qualifying which recently saw them at Albacete.

McGuinness has so far set the fastest lap time at the Tourist Trophy, in front of teammate Amor (whose back protection McGuinness had borrowed because he couldn’t find his own just before race start), and with East Coast Racing Honda rider Gary Johnson coming in third. McGuinness says:

Having done all the Endurance racing, I feel really race sharp and the bike’s feeling a million dollars so I’m glad we’re all up and running now and can look forward to the rest of practice week in a good frame of mind.

Check out the Honda TT Legends pics from Albacete before we put together a gallery of the first 2011 Tourist Trophy action.

Continue reading: Honda TT Legends team prepares for 2011 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy

....

0 comments

With more excitement from the 2010 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy postponed due to fog, you’d think it was a safety-first kind of race if you didn’t know any better. The video after the jump shows the exact opposite with Adrian Archibald cutting off Guy Martin by the skin of his teeth (my reaction? Jeeesus Christ!). Riders actually race against the clock, not each other, but in some ways that further encourages these hair raising exploits as the guys go flat out around the island.

Apparently TT riders are like fighter pilots and we’ve already seen an example of Guy Martin’s extreme gardening efforts. It seems no obstacle, moving or stationary, is to get in the way of racing the clock. More results to come when today’s races, including the TT Zero, start after being postponed yesterday.

Continue reading: 2010 TT delayed: extreme riding video

....

0 comments

The title looks like something made up, but it’s true. Ian Hutchinson has been the hardest to beat this year at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. Gaining a hat-trick at the 2010 TT, Hutchinson took out the Superbike title in 1h 46′31″, followed by Michael Dunlop and Cameron Donald in second and third respectively. The Superbike round saw John McGuinness and Conor Cummins both retire, paving the way for Hutchinson to gain his fourth title on the island.

That title was soon followed by another two in the Supersport and Superstock categories, with Hutchinson so far winning everything there was to win at the 2010 TT. Hutchinson’s win in the Superstock was an exciting one, gained only in the last lap after he managed to recoup the five second lead that Ryan Farquhar was holding with a scintillating final lap of more than 130 mph (on a stock!!).

The Supersport saw Hutchinson win over Guy Martin with Michael Dunlop again, this time in third. After the jump you’ll find the full race results and be sure to check out the IoMTT website for all the action.

Continue reading: 2010 TT: Ian Hutchinson takes Isle of Man Supersport, Superbike and Superstock wins

....

0 comments

The second Isle of Man TT Zero practice takes place today before the official race scheduled for Wednesday, June 9th. The first practice on Saturday was an exciting event, with MotoCzysz looking to create some seriously fast competition before it ran out of battery charge before the finish, leaving team Agni Racing to complete the fastest lap.

There are ten bikes involved in this year’s TT Zero: Ecolve from London, Agni Racing who have two bikes, University teams Brunel and Kingston, MotoCzysz from America, Isle of Man based ManTTx Racing, Austria’s HTBLAUVA – XX Project, SERT (Swedish Electric Racing Team) and Germany’s Peace E Rider.

The spy shot above shows the MotoCzysz E1pc bike that’s racing and before it ran out of battery charge due to over-enthusiasm with the throttle on the part of the rider, it was producing some impressive figures. Quotes from the guys at MotoCzysz on the Isle of Man: “Another calibration test tomorrow and another Q session on Monday- spirits very HIGH here tonight!!!” Wednesday is going to be an exciting race for the electric bikes at the 2010 TT.

Source | IoMTT and A&R

....

0 comments

Here’s the first on-board video from this year’s 2010 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. The practice rounds have taken off and the unstoppable John McGuinness is still proving super fast. Second behind him is Ian Hutchinson.

In the Supersport class Michael Dunlop has completed the fastest time, proving that the Dunlop family has speed in their DNA. The Superstock class sees Ryan Farquhar at the top with his Kawasaki, followed by Keith Amor with a BWW S1000RR. After the jump are all the results from Wednesday’s practice, more updates to come.

Continue reading: 2010 Tourist Trophy first footage

....

0 comments

Suzuki made its international motorcycle racing debut in the Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) race in 1960. To celebrate this, the Isle of Man has marked the 50th anniversary of Suzuki’s TT debut with the issue of a commemorative 50-pence coin.

The the coin bears a profile of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on one side while on the other bears an image of racer Mitsuo Itoh on the Suzuki RM63, the 50cc bike on which he became the first-ever Japanese-born TT winner in 1963.

The Isle of Man TT was first held in 1907 and is the world’s oldest motorcycle road race. Suzuki first competed in 1960. It claimed its first victory in 1962 in the newly created 50cc class and enjoyed a second consecutive year of TT glory with Itoh’s victory in 1963. Itoh is the only Japanese winner in the TT’s 103-year history.

This year’s Isle of Man TT runs from May 29 to June 11. The Isle of Man’s Manx Museum will have an exhibition marking Suzuki’s 50th year of TT participation from the end of May to the beginning of September.

....

0 comments

Maria Costello has been the fastest woman on a bike at the Tourist Trophy for the last five years and she’s going back to the Isle of Man for the 2010 TT on a BMW S1000RR. BMW is at the TT with its new superbike, and Costello will ride it in the Superstock, Superbike and Senior races.

It could prove the perfect vehicle for Costello to keep her fastest lap record again in 2010, with the support of Wollaston BMW and sponsor Tony Morris. Costello has plenty of success to her name, being the first woman ever to claim a podium place at the TT, and has even been awarded an MBE, conferred in autumn last year by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. For more details see Maria’s website, costelloracing.com.

Source | LondonBikers

....

0 comments

This preview video of the 2010 Tourist Trophy really plays on the emotion and history of the event, but it should prove to be another exciting year on the Isle of Man. The 2010 TT will be held from May 29 to June 11. John McGuinness should be the man to beat again this year with 15 TT titles under his belt and plenty of records to boot.

McGuinness is in second place in the rankings for TT wins, behind the 26 victories of Joey Dunlop. The fastest lap time is also held by McGuinnes, posted in 2009 at 17′12″30 and an average of 211.754km/h for the 60 km of the track. If you’re a TT fan, this video should tie you over for a little Isle of Man excitement before the real thing starts in May.

....

0 comments

Norton will be back to motorcycle racing next year with a brand new Norton superbike fitted with a Wankel engine. The bike is set to be a rotary model with more than 210 hp which could see Norton enter the BSB and WSB in the next few years.

The new Norton Commando 961 SE is already a lovely bike that has moved the English motorcycle public, and according to MCN the company has also been working on a new Norton race bike since last year, with an eye to developing something for the 2011 Tourist Trophy.

Norton has some successful racing history off the back of a Wankel-engined bike which was developed by mechanic Brian Crighton in the early 1990’s. The company participated in a numer of British championships before its collapse in 1992. Hopefully we could also see a street-legal superbike developed with the new engine.

....

0 comments

This Ducati 1098R will join other big-name manufacturers including BMW and KTM at the 2010 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. Aprilia is still missing from that list, but by the time everyone gets out on the track, we might not even notice. The 1098R will be ridden by Michael Rutter and you can decide whether you like the paint job or not.

Source | HellForLeather

....

1 comment