[Chain]

My favorite of all professional racing isn't Superbike. Not Moto GP. No, not NASCAR, heh. Nope, it is and always has been the Isle of Man TT. In my very uneducated opinion (I'm no racer), there isn't a group of better skilled more fearless men than the fellows who risk (and often give) their lives in this venue every year.

I own One Man's Island and have read a few books on the race. Stumbled across this pretty entertaining video while surfing this a.m. The guy with the No. 1 plate on the blue and white Suzuki is the late, great David Jeffries.

(Note: it helped when I reduced the size of the Win MP window - video was much higher quality.)

[satuomin]

Damn it is nice but still so crazy, those are real "drives"

-C9B5R4-

[bwhip]

Chain - Have you seen One Man's Island ? If you haven't, I highly recommend it. It's the story of a regular guy from Canada who sells everything he has and gives up his job to race in the Isle of Man TT.

The DVD also includes a complete unedited on-board lap around the circuit, which is absolutely mind-blowing.

How those guys sustain that mental intensity over the length of that extremely treacherous journey at those speeds is incredible.

My favorite race too! I'd love to go see one live before they ban it.

[Chain]

Dammit. I meant to say OMI, not Faster. Sorry whip, but yeah- that's the one I have.

[TGZ13]

I love TT racing I think its just who has the biggest set wins type of racing.

I mean they really ride that fine line between being fast and being out of control

[Tornado bait]

KICK ASS!!!! Yeah I gotta say that is some awesome racing.
Although the track is cool being balls to the wall on real roads leagally is the coolest.

Originally Posted by bwhip

My favorite race too! I'd love to go see one live before they ban it.

Now there's a great idea for a .organized trip.

[Scout]

Oh Yeah! I've got a strong appreciation for the Isle of Man racers also.

In the 80's, they were running some Isle of Man coverage on the one of the networks (I think some main-stream sport was striking at the time), and let's just say it stirred something in me - akin to total awe.

Chain & others - Check out the Manx Gran Prix, The Northwest 200, The Ulster Grand Prix, and the Southern 10 - different circuits, same racing...

anybody check this one out yet?

http://www.ttwebsite.com/


pm for a site which links the other titles DVD (with a short synopsis) mentioned above...

[Heavy-Dee]

IOM is amazing and captivating, but totally crazy and has little regard for the saftey of the riders. Makes it hard for me to support it. Just b/c someone is dumb enough to do something, doesn't mean we should encourage it.

HD

[Tornado bait]

Originally Posted by Heavy-Dee

IOM is amazing and captivating, but totally crazy and has little regard for the saftey of the riders. Makes it hard for me to support it. Just b/c someone is dump enough to do something, doesn't mean we should encourage it.

HD

uh......it's a race, not Russian roulette.

[Heavy-Dee]

Originally Posted by Tornado bait

uh......it's a race, not Russian roulette.

To the contrary, it is russian roulette.

[Chain]

Scout, this is where I keep up to date on TT news.

http://www.iomtt.com/

HD, I respect and understand your position, I just don't agree with it. These are grown men, expertly trained professionals in every sense of the term. They do what they do knowing full well what the risks are. David Jeffries and Joey Dunlop are immortalized not so much by their racing deaths, but how they lived and competed while they were alive.

There could be much worse fates than leaving this world doing what one truly loves IMHO.

[Heavy-Dee]

I'm not suggesting that the race should not be run. Only that it should not be run in it's current context. Many of the turns are not protected by (at a min) airfence. This is just an example. I just think that if they are going to run the race, then more effort needs to be put into safety. That's all. B/c currently there is very, very little effort put in.

HD

[Chain]

Point well taken, HD.

I think you'll see the race banned before TT founding fathers do anything like make a move to install such safety measures, however.

[Scout]

Good Site Chain. Thought this was interesting:

White Flag
Slow moving car, ambulance or similar vehicle on track

Note: It is forbidden for a rider to overtake another
rider during the display of the white flag. Overtaking
the slow moving vehicle is permitted.

You won't see this in the MotoGP or AMA regs

[deez]

Originally Posted by Heavy-Dee

I'm not suggesting that the race should not be run. Only that it should not be run in it's current context. Many of the turns are not protected by (at a min) airfence. This is just an example. I just think that if they are going to run the race, then more effort needs to be put into safety. That's all. B/c currently there is very, very little effort put in.

HD

I will agree that they need to do something. But the flipside is, that every competitor knows and accepts the dangers, I remember seeing a Jeffries interview where he said it himself, Dunlop as well if I remember right.

Have no fear, in the past couple of years, there has been talk of the TT going away due to safety concerns. We'll see.

[colryn]

That's an incredible video. You must have a big set of balls to run that race. Man I can't imagine doing that on public roads.

[Newfie TLR]

In my honest opinion, this race is the ultimate in bike racing. Is it dangerous?? Yes, it is, very much so. People ask why none of the top racers race there. The real reason is their sponsors won't allow it, it's in the riders contracts. "Thou shalt not race the Isle of mann TT's." Foggy is a good example. He used to race there and was involved in some of the top races there ever, but Ducati (and possible Honda before that) wouldn't allow him to race there any more due to the danger.

A friend of mine who I usually ride with is from the Black Country in England and grew up going to the TT's every year. He knows more about the history that anybody I've ever talked to.

I hope to ship my TLR over there in 2006 to say I rode the track. Not in a race, but in the mornings before the races start. You can basically ride the whole track. There are speed limits in towns, but outside in the countryside, the track is wide open speed.

I just watched that video. It's nice. The first time you see the bikes come at you at speed is about the 20 sec mark of the video. That is the bottom of Bray Hill and it's shown a couple of other times in that video. That is a place where you have to be there before daylight to get a trackside place to stand. I've been told that IT WILL make the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

[Chain]

Yeah Newfie, Bray Hill is dangerous as hell. Bikes get all the way off the ground while WFO at speeds approaching 140 mph there.

http://abbotmcc.cyberhog.co.uk/coursedata.htm

I agree. The TT is the pinnacle of two wheeled road racing. Nothing -including Moto GP- compares.

[WetShrub]

What sort of tires do they run on those bikes during the race? Can't be a real race tire right? Think they have some special compounds for that race only?

[Beesa]

This is my first post on this site, just joined today, and heres a subject that is really close to my heart. I have the new 2004 T.T. dvd.I have video tapes of the T.T. from 1997/2003. My favorite thing in the whole world (apart from kids and wife) is the T.T.
I attended the T.T. from 1967 to 1972 when I was living in England.
This year I went back for my first visit in over 30 years. It was like I had never been away.It was truly awesome.There is really nothing to compere to it.
To those who have never been-just do it, as it will change your life forever.
To those detractors who say its too dangerous, yes it is the most dangerous form of racing there is, but no-one makes these blokes race over there, they race BECAUSE its the ultimate challenge, even though they make pay the ultimate price.
Once you have sat on the wall outside the Sulby Inn, and seen the bikes go by you at over 185 with nothing but 12ft of tarmac between you and the bikes, it makes all other forms of racing seem tame.

[luvtolean]

I got the chills watching that.

[Beesa]

O.K. more on the T.T. For all of you on this site who are really T.T. fans, go to flying-sparks.com, a sight run from the I.O.M. by a couple of bike crazy blokes, where almost all the members are regular T.T.visitors.It has forums, galleries,on-bike videos on open roads taken by the guys that run the sight, etc.
I am planning to go back again in 2007 for the Golden Jubilee races, which I think will be fantastic.
There are a few guys from the U.S.A. who go over for the races, so why not you? Yes, its not cheap, but its the only place in the world to experience the ultimate rush if like motorcycle racing. If you do decide to go over, you will need to plan very early, ususally nearly one year in advance for ferry tickets from Liverpool, accomodations, etc.You will find all kinds of help from either the website I just mentioned , or from iomtt.com too. Most of the people post on message boards on both sites. You can also visit manxradio.com which has a web cam showing the view accross Douglas harbour.

[soon2b954]

Originally Posted by Heavy-Dee

I'm not suggesting that the race should not be run. Only that it should not be run in it's current context. Many of the turns are not protected by (at a min) airfence. This is just an example. I just think that if they are going to run the race, then more effort needs to be put into safety. That's all. B/c currently there is very, very little effort put in.

HD

Not to sound morbid, but that's part of what makes the race so damn incredible!! It's a test of man and machine against, well everything!!

[Beesa]

This is directed to Colrin. I know a guy that works at the Kennedy Space Center and lives in Titusville who attends the T.T. He's not that far from you.He posts on both the websites that I previously mentioned, as Smilodon.

[Heavy-Dee]

Originally Posted by soon2b954

Not to sound morbid, but that's part of what makes the race so damn incredible!! It's a test of man and machine against, well everything!!

agreed. 100%.