Bike fan Charley Boorman prepares for his first Isle of Man TT
Adventurer, Dakar Rally competitor, TV presenter, actor and motorcycle fan Charley Boorman is about to fulfil another ambition by attending the 2011 Isle of Man TT fuelled by Monster Energy.
Known to millions for globe-trotting television shows like Long Way Round, Long Way Down and By Any Means, Charley said he is ‘really, really excited’ about seeing TT racing in person for the first time.
He is bringing his one-man show Charley Boorman Live to the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas, on June 3. Not currently touring the show, Charley admitted the timing of his first public appearance in the Isle of Man was no coincidence, offering him the chance to also take in some racing.
He will spend several days in the Island to get a real taste of the event, and find out what it is which attracts tens of thousands of fans, with numbers increasing every year.
Charley has had a lifelong passion for motorcycles, a passion shared with actor Ewan McGregor which saw the pair take on incredible two-wheel adventures around the world. The duo also ran a race team which featured TT favourite David Jefferies as its rider. In addition, Charley took on motorsports other greatest event, the Dakar Rally.
He has ridden on the Mountain course before, alongside TT legend John McGuinness during the making of the BBC series By Any Means, when he also met racing icon Geoff Duke.
But, despite his love of bikes and association with the TT, this will be the first time he has seen the racing in person.
Speaking to iomtt.com, Charley said:
“I am really, really excited to be coming along. I want to have a good look around and see what all the fuss is about in person. Everyone always says it is just fantastic and the craziest thing you will ever see. I want to experience it for myself, and I’m hoping a few of the guys will show me where to watch and maybe take me around the lap.”
“I am definitely a fan, I just love all aspects of bike racing – Superbike, MotoGP, Motocross – and I just love the whole idea of the TT; the endurance, the riders, the challenge, the course, everything.”
“I don’t know what to expect as I’ve never been there for the racing before, I am just hoping I can hook up with a few of the boys who can take me around.”
Charley acknowledges the TT’s popularity is on the up again after several years of struggle, and said that is part of biking itself become fashionable once again.
He said:
“All these things go through periods of being in and out of fashion, and for motorcycling never more so has there been a time when it has been seen as ‘sexier’. Add in that the TT has some very exciting characters and incredible racing and it is the complete package.”
“In some ways it is very similar to the Dakar really. It is about endurance, about the known and the unknown, racing not just against each other, but against the course and conditions.”
“There are only really eight people who can do the Dakar on a bike and win, and it could be any of them. The same could be said of the TT, there is a handful of riders who can do it and win it, and it could be any of them. The final decider could just be a bit of luck.”
Like all fans, Charley is struggling to pick who will take victory from among the incredibly strong line-up announced for the 2011 TT, which includes McGuinness, Honda teammate Keith Amor, Guy Martin on the Relentless Suzuki by TAS Racing, Padgetts Honda-mounted Bruce Anstey, Cameron Donald on the Wilson Craig Honda and Kawasaki riders Ryan Farquhar and Michael Dunlop, to name just a handful.
Charley said:
“It is incredibly difficult to tell. There are the obvious favourites, but which one will win will come down to the race on the day, different conditions will favour different riders.”
“I am such a fan of John (McGuinness). You have to think he absolutely always has a chance, he has the skill and the speed. In addition, he’s a really nice guy, down-to-earth and with time for everyone.”
He started as an actor – a natural job perhaps as his father is the celebrated director John Boorman, who created Deliverance, The Emerald Forest and Excalibur – but Charley is now best known for his starring roles in motorcycle adventure TV shows.
The variety of series has allowed him to indulge his passion for bikes and travel, and created a mini-industry of spin-off DVDs, books, CDs and more.
Interest in the trials and tribulations of Charley and Ewan’s globetrotting created a demand to hear the stories behind the shows, and that led to the show fans will be able to enjoy at the TT – Charley Boorman Live.
Charley said:
“It’s a show about how it all started and all the way through to now. There are plenty of funny stories, funny stories which didn’t make it into the TV shows. It is really anything and everything. It covers from when I was on the set of Deliverance to today, explaining how I got the travel bug, touching upon my childhood, the acting and how that led to meeting Ewan McGregor.”
“The content has been developed from the after dinner speaking tour I used to do, and then there is a Q&A with the audience. It is a very personal evening in a lot of ways, it is very much about emotions, about how I felt at the time and what really went on on the road, the stuff that didn’t make it to the TV and books, what is was like spending all that time away from my children.”
“I had a very bizarre upbringing, spending most of my childhood going around the world and on film sets with my father, all that’s in there, as is my brush with cancer last year.”
“There’s a lot of stuff, and a lot of very funny stuff from behind the scenes. I would really like the show to be a big one. It is great fun, there are little clips of footage people haven’t seen, some very funny stories about the stupid situations we got ourselves into, which are hilarious.”
There have been critics of Charley’s motorcycling credentials, but his love of bikes is a lifelong passion.
He explained:
“Neither of my parents had any interest in motorcycles, I’m the first in the family, but it is an interest which has been there for as long as I can remember.”
“I had three posters on my wall growing up; Easy Rider, Barry Sheene and the inevitable Farrah Fawcett Major in a bikini. It was all about bikes, still is and has been forever.”
“My interest in bikes has been a long and interesting journey, including some brushes with the law. I won’t tell you about them now, as some are included in the show.”
“People ask me what I do in my spare time – if I have spare time I go off and ride a motorcycle.”
Charley Boorman Live is at the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas, Isle of Man, on June 3rd. Tickets, priced just £15, are available from the Box Office.
And to find out more about Charley Boorman and how you can join Charley on an epic African Adventure visit his website.