Fans name 1992 showdown between Hizzy and Foggy as greatest TT race
Wednesday 02 February 2011
TT
The legendary battle between Steve Hislop and Carl Fogarty for the 1992 Senior TT has been chosen by fans as the greatest race ever seen on the iconic Mountain course.
Thousands of fans took part in a vote to find the best race as the course prepares to mark its 100th anniversary at this year’s TT. Almost half chose the 1992 Senior TT as their favourite race.
The race was chosen from a shortlist of 10 that had been drawn up by leading figures in the road racing world, including John McGuinness, Ian Hutchinson, Michael Dunlop and Dave Molyneux, as well as ex-riders and TT commentators Charlie Williams and Steve Parrish and Motor Cycle News journalist Gary Pinchin.
The 2000 Formula 1 race that saw Joey Dunlop triumph over David Jefferies finished second in the poll, while last year’s thrilling Superstock battle between Ryan Farquhar and Hutchinson - which Hutchinson eventually won by 1.32 seconds on his way to his historic five victories in a week - was third in the survey.
The Isle of Man Post Office has turned the full shortlist into a set of 10 stamps as part of the centenary celebrations for the Mountain course. A selection of TT stamp merchandise featuring all of the stamps will be issued from April and is available at www.iomstamps.com.
The shortlist featured five pre-1980 races including the 1935 Senior TT victory for Stanley Woods over Jimmy Guthrie, Tom Herron’s 1976 Senior TT victory over John Williams and Alex George’s 1979 Classic TT win ahead of Mike Hailwood.
Sidecars were represented by the1977 race which boiled down to a thrilling Yamaha dual between Dick Greasley with Kenny Arthur and George O’Dell with Mick Skeels, the latter pair eventually triumphing with a new lap record of 102.8mph on the final lap.
The1967 Senior TT between Giacomo Agostini and Mike Hailwood also scored well.
Modern races featured included one of Klaus Klaffenbock’s 2010 triumphs and the 2008 Senior TT showdown between McGuinness and Cameron Donald.
The 1992 Senior TT saw Hislop and Fogarty on unfamiliar machines.
For that classic confrontation, Foggy was on a Loctite Yamaha OW01 while Hizzy rode an Abus-backed Norton rotary.
However, that didn’t stop them delivering one of the truly memorable showdowns in TT history, with both riders posting lap records during the race.
First Hislop broke his own lap record, then Fogarty raised it to 123.61mph. Hislop went on to take the race by 4.4s, and set a new race record of 121.38mph. It was Norton’s first TT win since 1973 and their first Senior victory since 1961.
Isle of Man Stamps and Coins General Manager Dot Tilbury said:
“TT fans have really got behind the vote and although there was a clear winner, many of the races also received lots of votes which hopefully proves that the shortlist was correct.”
“However, I’m sure that the debate will continue up to this year’s TT when more races will be added to its illustrious history.”