Mountain Mile to Verandah

Competitor Guide with Steve Hislop

The left hander after Guthries I always think of as a short circuit corner, but it's one that can catch you out - it's tighter than you think. The camber is OK there, it's quite level, but I think once you get around that you've got to really work hard at the little bridge on the Mountain Mile. You're better to actually back off before the bridge and drive through and onto the Mountain Mile, rather than go through it and have to shut the throttle, because you lose all your drive along there. On a 250cc or even a 600cc you'd be flat out in top gear along the Mountain Mile. Where the Marshalls caravan usually is, about half way along the left kink, you could nearly eat a sandwich on a 250cc or a 600cc!!

You're going along there and you get a chance to take a breather, let your arms relax a bit - I would say it's about the only place that you really get a chance for a breather. You get along there and on the likes of a RVF or, say, the Norton you are getting just past the Marshalls' caravan and you're like "Arrrrgh!" and you think "That was close!" On the 250cc the bike is just going itself and you come along there off that bridge and your really conscious of getting on the right bit of the road to get though that left. It's very quick along there and then you carry a lot of speed. It's a fair climb and it would be interesting to have a speed trap there. If it's not too windy, the bikes are usually peaking out along there.

Considering how steep it is going down there when you drive a car towards Ramsey, you can hardly believe that a big bike would pull as good as they do. You come into that long right where the little bridge is, just before the East Mountain Box, that is quick through there. Shift back a couple of gears. A big problem there is as you come over the little bridge, you come out beyond the hillside. Quite often you get a crosswind, which nearly puts you into the fence as you're braking, so you have to allow for that. You've really got to be almost on the grass verge to go into the Mountain Box. You've got to give yourself a big couple of feet because somedays there's such a gust of wind, especially on a little bike. It really catches you and puts you away towards the grass. There are about 3 corners there in one, that's one of my favourites. It's beautiful. You're talking 4th gear, by the time you're around it to the last dip you're back into 5th and carrying a lot of speed up towards the right kink before the Black Hut. 8 out of 10 times you'll get that flat out on a bike, it's a flat out kink. But for some reason there'll be 2 out of 10 times you'll just roll it. You'll come up to it and think "Oh Oh - No! Can't do it". There's just something about it. You approach that, you're all tucked up, you're in top gear and on an odd practice session you might just be 2 inches at the wrong side of where you want to be and have to roll a little bit. It is quick through there.

You approach the Black Hut, back a couple of gears, now you have to watch because there's a fair dip going into it, just on the left hand side. You're cutting over it, but you can really let the bike go in towards the wall. Then you come towards one of my favourite sections - 4 corners. Somebody once told me when I was coming to the Manx how to learn them and I've used the same method all my life. You say it sub-consciously to yourself when you're approaching it. "Left hand side of the road, left hand side of the white line, right hand side of the white line and right on the inside" and it's just perfect through there.

I've never noticed it on anything else but in 1991 when I had the RVF, (that was a very very powerful, lightweight bike - one they sent across) It was the quickest bike ever because I've actually done 124mph on that, although Foggy's official lap record is 123.5mph for 6 laps - but the Thursday afternoon of practice I did 124.3mph and coming out of the last bit of the Verandah I was in top gear because you just hook top as you go into the "left left, right right". It was just starting to move the back tyre coming off the way. On a short circuit, you'd get them drifting a little bit, but not around here. It's just starting to move the back tyre so you're doing a hell of a speed around there when it's starting to do that. You stay out on the left, about 1 foot away from the kerb, carrying the speed and you stay out on the left for a bit, so that you can actually see around the next little right kink because you go in quite square across the kink so that you're right down the right hand side of the road. Back a couple of gears for the Bungalow Bridge, you have to stay out a couple of feet because there are some drainage grids on the inside, and the road is all dipped near them. If you went in tight on the natural line, you would probably hit the bottom of the exhaust, so you have to stay out a couple of feet. There is plenty of road on the exit anyway - you can actually use the whole road.

Then swing yourself right back, you hook back to top gear as you go in towards the Bungalow. You hardly need to go across to the right hand side of the road. You should stay out on the left all the way round, until the very last kink when you can nearly see the Bob McIntyre Memorial Box. Because you've been so far out on the left you can just square it up, cut right across and go straight down the right hand side of the road, back to 3rd gear and then into the Bungalow.