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TT Stars entertain the fans at successful TT launch

Thursday 17 April 2014
TT
Whitham and Parrish at the 2014 TT Launch

The TT riders were out in force at the launch of 2014 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy as fans around the world were entertained by the chat show event.

Hosted this year by ex BBC TV presenter Gethin Jones with support from ITV TT commentators Steve Parrish and James Whitham, the riders shared their plans and ambitions for this year's races as well as the odd anecdote. Banter was well to the fore as rivalries re-emerged and early scoring points were notched up.

Among the riders appearing were 2013’s fastest newcomer Josh Brookes who talked about his pride in his 2013 TT achievements and gave the audience an insight into his intense preparation when he shared the fact that he estimated that he completed over a hundred laps in a car in a bid to learn the track.

Gary Johnson, the 2011 Supersport Race winner, talked about the machines which he'll compete on in the 2014 meeting including the Smith's Triumph in the Supersport class. He also, intriguingly, talked about the improvements to the Chinese manufactured CF Moto backed WK SuperTwin Bike that he'll race in the Bike Nation Lightweight TT.

Dave Molyneux and Patrick Farrance, Tim Reeves and the Birchall brothers Tom and Ben represented the Sure Sidecar Class, and all agreed that this year's races would be the most competitive for many years. The three outfits confirmed that the new sidecar regulations would definitely make the machines faster although they wouldn't be drawn on whether Nick Crowe's outright lap record would be broken.

The evening drew to a conclusion with the two heavyweight's of the meeting Michael Dunlop and John McGuinness with the pair confirming that the rivalry that unravelled as team mates in 2013 would continue now they are set to go head to head with rival factory backed manufacturers BMW and Honda.

John outlined his 'old school' plans to recover from the broken wrist sustained in a motocross fall while Michael revealed that he was digging out his sunglasses and hair gel ahead of round 1 of the British Superbike Championship at Brands Hatch this weekend.  He also talked about the 'unknown quantity’ of the BMW Superbike but re-affirmed his view that six wins would be possible 'if everything stays together'.

You can now see the full 2 hour recording of the show on the TT's YouTube Channel.




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