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That time of year again when the road warriors pit themselves againt the mountain course.
I had the ferry deposit booked but in the end, decided the give this year a miss. Regretting that decision now! Weather is looking great for practice / quali week, and with the extra two races, should be a cracking 2 weeks.
I fully expect lap records to go, maybe not the outright, but think we'll get the first 130mph supersport lap. Also think the Birchalls dominance will be severely tested by the young Crowe lads this year.
Shame Lee Johnston won't be there but relieved that James Hillier has overcome his injuries from the NW200 and will be riding.
Ooh -
There's a live TV package and also highlights on ITV4:
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-05-29/where-can-i-watch-the-isle-of-man-tt
Yep, tt+. £20 for all live coverage for the two weeks
Watch it live here, it’s free for today as there is an issue with payment/log ins on the tt pass website
https://ttplus.iomttraces.com/packages/tt-live-pass-2023/videos/tt-2023-qualifying-1
It’s only 25 miles from me, unfortunately across water though.
There’s a live TV package and also highlights on ITV4:
Not really though the same is it. Nothing like the difficulty finding accommodation, the HOW MUCH ??? beer prices.
Not really though the same is it. Nothing like the difficulty finding accommodation, the HOW MUCH ??? beer prices.
Eh? Camping nr union mills + Railway Inn, problem solved.. sadly not this year for me
Obviously TV's not the same as being there - but nothing ever is.
Beats a 1-line report in the paper though.
If you use the code 44TT20 then you get 20% off the ttplus above, apply at checkout, website is still borked so try tomorrow
I’m there from the 7th. No matter how many times I go, each year it still seems like the first time up close.
Hope the weather holds…
The weather as ever will dictate the lap times...
Well, times from.the first qualifying session were impressive. Dunlop's on it
TTplus website now working for payment.
Mad speeds in today's practice. Peter Hickman was recently asked if he's going to beat his lap record. His response was only if I have to. Looking at how Michael Dunlop is going he's going to have to!
Dunlop has set a new, unofficial, lap record. Looking forward to the racing.
Looking to go next year with the family, checked air Bnb’s and could only find one! Am I missing something here or am I being geoblocked but to my location (Australia)
I watched the itv4 coverage last night and Micheal Dunlop looked good. He normally looks (to my non biker eyes) like he is right on the edge and ragged, an accident waiting to happen. Yesterday he was smooth. Very quick.
I used to do the International Cycling Week a couple of weeks after the TT races. It was ace (early 90's). Coming off the mountain at nearly 60 mph on a pedal bike was fun (with sheep).
Just watched that stunning 120 lap, hairs literally standing on the back of my neck f****** hell!!
My mind can’t even begin to comprehend how sidecar passengers do what they do.
Agreed. I always expect them to be flung off at some point!
Remember talking to my Unkle, a stalwart, diehard old school motorbike rider. (He used to own and restore Velocette bikes if anyone can remember them 😃) who knew quite a few of the riders of the TT. He said of one of the passengers of the sidecar was pissing blood for two weeks after the race. Such was the battering his kidneys got 😳
@johnstell I’ve no idea about Airbnb as I’ve never used them, but finding accommodation on the island can be difficult. People who go every year will essentially just have a rolling booking with the place they always stay at.
Last time we went, admittedly last minute, there were two options, camping or The Sefton. We chose the latter and it was very expensive.
Then there’s the second issue, the weather. Don’t for a minute think that it’s going to be like this next year. It’ll more than likely be cold and wet, races will be delayed or even cancelled and you’ll be trying to stand up straight on the top of Snaefell, walking from the train to the cafe in a gale in the hope that there’ll be racing tomorrow. I speak from bitter experience.
It’s great fun though and riding around the mountain circuit, even slowly, is unreal.
Hahaha 😆 I love the thought of fans watching an idol ride off on their pride and joy only to realise.....errr how do o get home and... how do I get my bike back!
I’d love to go and watch this, but it does appear race week is madness for getting logistics sorted. Would the practice week give the same thrill, they are, after all, going flat out in qualifiers. May be a bit easier to get digs and ferries?
The easiest way to do it is go on the ferry as a foot passenger (bikes were free but think they charge an extra £20 now) and camp. Lots of pop up camp sites around and the bike allows you to go to alot of the circuit.
There's always foot passenger tickets available and camping doesn't have to be booked until later on.
Plus, you then get to ride some awesome mtb trails when there's no racing .
Peter Hickman absolutely smashed the first Superstock race by 23 secs. Thought Michael Dunlop might have a chance of winning everything this week but not now.
That was in the Guardian this morning too. Their first mention of this year’s TT - another fatality, classy.
It's incredible how fast the stocks are, the gap to the out and out race machines seems tiny. I wonder if the gap would be bigger on short course track racing, I guess it would. Hackman was quick wasn't he!
Such a shame, only this morning I was hoping that this could be the first without fatality for a long time.
I was thinking on this - when people call for the TT to stop they compare it to track racing, when in reality it's far more similar to rallying - the riders go out one by one and race against the clock, not eachother.
Only earlier this year a WRC driver was killed in an crash on a practice stage - I don't hear anyone calling for that to be stopped.
WRC deaths are an exception, death(s) at the TT is almost normal.
As in many tt threads before, a comparable activity is climbing everest. Since 1922. 311 people have died climbing everest, at an average of 5 per year, a death toll higher than the TT.Do we hear about this in the press everytime someone dies. No, and it's because the TT is closer to home and visible. Out of sight out of mind seems be the press's angle.
.That was in the Guardian this morning too. Their first mention of this year’s TT – another fatality, classy.
Any other event that has deaths every year would be under very close scrutiny - so that is a churlish comment.
I was that the Manx GP last year - which was a complete waste of time, due to the organisers, the Manx government and the TT owners all pissing about with petty politics and who owns what.
Despite people having had ferries booked for 3 years because of covid - and accommodation, they decided to shift the dates, moving the big race to the Monday - with most (very pissed off) people leaving on Sunday.
Will never go again based on that experience - money will be (happily) spend elsewhere.
I love motorcycle racing - but would now rather watch MotoGP and BSB where the organisers and fans take safety of the riders seriously. I don't want to see a rider die. I very nearly did at Balaugh Bridge on a prior visit to the Manx GP, but had fortunately turned my back and started walking back to my bike at the time.
There is a strange glorification (born out the number of people wearing t shirts along the lines of " passing dry stone walls at 170 mph within inches, 37 miles of danger, real mens racing" ...
I just wonder how long it is before Michael Dunlop joins his father and Uncles 🙁
The per capita mortality rate for Everest climbs above base camp is about 3% and falling recently. Summits have a much higher mortality rate. Last year the mortality rate in the TT was 5% (8 deaths among about 160 riders). They are certainly comparable.
Not just anyone can rock up to the TT, but 50k and decent fitness will get you above base camp.
Hickman’s super stock lap was remarkable. That a production bike can exceed 130 mph average, and a sidecar can exceed 120 is mind blowing.
Not just anyone can rock up to the TT
That is the thing there... to get a licence to race the TT is pretty bloody tough... Trust me, i tried, it was my goal but i couldn't attain the necessary positions in the precluding racing/classes to do so.
So they don't just send/allow anyone out there for sure.
But.. the bikes are bloody fast and the margins very small that's for sure.
At 120 over the mountain I had to react really quickly to the next bend / undulations in the road etc. God knows what it is like at 190 ish, and then 37 miles worth of hedges, kerbs, pillar boxes, and drains.
There is approximately no margin of error - and no run off
130 mph laps on 600's. Wow
Feel for Harrison though. Best he can.hope for at the.moment is 3rd despite his insane lap times.
Did we do the tweet of Michael on the mountain? The distance you can hear him from - and the sound! - are amazing. Turn it up looouuuudd...
https://twitter.com/KTree773/status/1665417596508725250?s=20
😳 it really is utterly mental!!
Turning down the opportunity to become a sidecar passenger (nowhere near TT level mind) was probably one of my more sensible life decisions.
Hickman, 136.3 mph lap on a stocker . Wow
😳