Stars hail revitalised Isle of Man TT
Wednesday 17 June 2009
TT
Stars of motorsport have lined up to hail the resurgence of the Isle of Man TT Races after a fantastic and record-breaking 2009 event.
The fortnight-long event finished on Saturday with all of the race records being broken, and a new outright lap record by 15-times winner John McGuinness.
Legendary commentator Murray Walker, whose father won a TT in 1931 and who first commentated on the event for the BBC in 1949, was among the stars to visit the TT this year.
He said:
‘The high points of my trip to the Isle of Man were the honour and privilege of starting the PokerStars Senior TT and my first ever time at Bray Hill during a race, as I’ve always been in the commentary box before.’
‘I knew it was incredible, but it far exceeded my most extreme expectations. I always thought that everyone who rode in the TT was a superman, but now I know they are.’
‘I had the strongest feeling possible that the TT has very definitely turned the corner and now has a very bright future.’
MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who visited the Island during the Dainese Superbike Race and completed a lap of the course with 10-time TT champion Giacomo Agostini, was stunned by his first visit to the TT.
He said:
‘It’s a great track. Incredible, fast, funny for the bike. To go flat out you need a lot of technique and bravery.'
‘For the riders who do this race it is like a battle against the TT. It’s different to MotoGP. It is very dangerous and is not possible to make a mistake. It’s impressive.’
Another MotoGP star to visit was Bradley Smith, Britain’s most successful Grand Prix rider since Barry Sheene. He got his first taste of the TT with race winning Manxman Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle. Quayle gave Smith a guided tour of the 37.73 mile Mountain Circuit in a race official’s Jaguar.
Smith said:
‘It was unbelievable just to have that opportunity. It was really special to go round with Milky. You watch it on the TV, but you just don’t get a true impression of what they actually do.’
‘I was surprised by all of the blind corners and the undulation of the track. I think these guys are amazing specialists.’
The racing saw Lincolnshire rider Steve Plater take the overall title when Ian Hutchinson slid off at Quarterbridge on the final lap of the Pokerstars Senior Race.
Hutchinson, who took the Relentless Supersport 1 and Royal London 360 Superstock titles, went into the final day with a 19 point lead from Plater for the Joey Dunlop TT Championship Trophy, awarded to the best aggregate total across the five solo races. The solo manufacturer’s award also went to Honda.
The podium was visited by nine different riders in the solo classes on the Mountain Circuit, where all of the race records were broken.
John McGuinness set a new record of 1hr 46mins 7.16secs, and average speed of 127.996mph, in the opening Dainese Superbike TT, Ian Hutchinson set new standards in both the Relentless Supersport (1hr 12mins 56.58secs/124.141mph) and Royal London Superstock (1hr 10mins 57.54secs/127.612mph) and Steve Plater established a new record in the Pokerstars Senior TT (1hr 45mins 53.15secs/128.278mph).
Veteran Ian Lougher, who has now competed in more than 100 TT races, also celebrated a double in the Motorsport Merchandise Lightweight and Ultra Lightweight TTs with victories and new lap records of 96.051mph (125cc) and 102.531mph (250cc).
There were also new lap records in the Supersport class for TAS Suzuki’s Bruce Anstey (17mins 53.32secs, an average of 126.549mph) and Padgetts Honda’s Hutchinson in the Superstock class (17mins 26.88secs/129.746mph).
HM Plant Honda’s McGuinness broke his own outright record with a staggering new average speed around the legendary TT circuit of 131.578mph.
Jenny Tinmouth became the TT’s fastest female rider with a new lap record of 116.835mph, shattering the previous record held by Maria Costello. It was a stunning performance for a newcomer to the challenging Mountain Course.
There were also notable newcomer performances from Luis Carreira, with a time of 122.062mph to put him fifth on the all-time list of fastest newcomers. Steve Mercer (121.362mph) and Ben Wylie (120.786mph) are seventh and ninth respectively.
In the Sure Sidecar class Dave Molyneux won the only race, following the cancellation of the second race after a racing incident. It was an amazing 14th TT win for the Manxman, and Moly set a new race record of 58mins 59.28secs.
Nick Crowe and Mark Cox had the consolation that their lap record of 116.667mph, set in 2007, remained intact.
Birchall brothers Ben and Tom posted a notable fastest lap time of 110.615mph, making them the second fastest newcomers ever.
This year’s TT also saw the debut of the world’s first clean emissions motorcycle race.
TTXGP saw 16 machines complete a lap of the course, with 10 making it round in the first practice.
Another machine qualified in second practice and special dispensation was given to three others to start.
At the end of the one-lap race, nine machines crossed the finish line. The fastest lap time of 87.434mph was recorded by Rob Barber with Team Agni. The open class was won by Chris Heath from US-based Electric Motorsport.
Manxman Conor Cummins received the Gavin Lee Trophy, awarded to the best performance by an Isle of Man resident in the Senior TT, for his stunning second place.
American Mark Miller was awarded the Iceman Trophy, in memory of Swedish rider Joakim Karlsson, for most meritorious performance by a non-UK resident for his 11th place finish in the Dainese Superbike and 12th place in the Royal London 360 Superstock.
The Martin Finnegan Trophy for the fastest lap by an Irishman, donated by the Martin Finnegan Supporters club, went to Adrian Archibald for his best lap of 128.883mph in the Dainese Superbike race.
The Frank Cope Trophy for ‘most meritorious performance given the seniority of a competitor’s age’ went to Dave Madsen Mygdal.
During the 2009 Isle of Man TT, 2,090 practices laps – the equivalent of 78,856 miles – and 1,423 racing laps – the equivalent of 53,689 miles – were completed.