Isle of Man TT 2010
 

On HD Theater.

These guys are nuts.

Sidecar coming up next.

Those guys are nuttier.

Isle of Man has got to be the best race of the year, at least for me.

Absolutely amazing skills, made my wife motion sick watching on the big screen ;)

+1 on the best race of the year...

I got my copy of the official DVD in the mail about a month ago. It runs for about three hours, showing all of the footage now being shown on TV, but without commercials. You can order them right from the official IOM TT website.

For an even better perspective, go to YouTube and watch Steve Plater's lap from last year. It's about the clearest video available from the riders' perspective. Guy Martin has a good one as well, where he narrates his lap, pointing out the names of all of the corners and whatnot. Sheer lunacy from any perspective.

It was interesting last year when Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini were in attendance, but Rossi could only do a parade lap since Yamaha would not let him race. It was like watching a kid who was desperate to ride the big roller coaster, but his parents wouldn't let him.

I always laugh when they ask the MotoGP guys (last night it was Cal Critchlow) if they want to ride. Invariably they hem and haw and keep their answers vague.

Isle of Man racers, at least the ones on the sharp end, are effing crazy.

It was more like watching a kid whose buddies were daring him to ride a roller coaster that scared him motherless, who could not hide his relief when his parents said "no". All of his buddies know he never would anyway. Everyone knows he could ride it if he wanted to bad enough. Everyone knows that regardless of his riding talent, he will never have what it takes to win the TT. It's a whole different ballgame. One that is played for keeps.

for keeps is right..
spalt..bring the bag..
hose off the wall..

Rika

I saw a little of that - those dudes are crazy. I don't think I'd ever seen that before - what does TT mean?

Tourist Trophy

In watching the vid of the Plater lap a few things come to mind:

I would love to ride there but I am sure I could never let go of the idea of 1) cops not busting me, 2) cars/bicycles/dogs/kids/etc not darting out from a side street.

One has to have 'tunnel vision' of the highest order to not let the visual distraction of buildings, curbs, posts, trees, walls etc clutter the mind.

Completely mental

I'm amazed by the LACK of carnage at that event. The course is lined with millions of hard targets...might as well be racing on a track with razor wire barriers.

There has actually been an awful lot of carnage down through the years, David. This race began prior to WWI, was interupted for that, then interupted for WWII, then most recently during the mad cow scare. I would guess we are coming up on, or may have already passed, the 90th running. Anyway, whatever the number is, something close to 240 riders have been killed at the TT over the years. Pretty staggering total, really. I'm not sure another single event of any kind can even come close.

I'm actually rather surprised this is "allowed" to continue. The only thing keeping it alive is the will of the people on the IOM. They are self governing; autonomous and stubborn. It's their event, and no hand-wringing ninnies bemoaning the carnage will ever get them to stop. Their position is that men still need a place to test themselves like this, it's purely voluntary, they know the risks, so, essentially STFU. I must say I agree.

The deaths are hard to take. I think David Jeffries may have been the last "big name" rider (and multiple TT winner) to die on the island. Maybe there have been some since; I just can't recall. Guy Martin came close this year. There were a couple of sidecar guys last year that barely pulled through, spending most of the year in the hospital. They crashed while leading. Anyway, it can get any one of them any thime, and they all know it. Brave men.

Anyway I could get one? The Isle of Man TT is my dream vacation. Just to experience everything, the races, the people watching, the pubs at night. What is not to like?

I love watching the coverage for about 10 minutes. For some reason, the production of the race just doesn't keep me interested like a "regular" race. I want to watch it and do. But, like hard pretzels, I never enjoy it like I think I should.

Until Guy Martin talks, then it's all worthwhile :)

Here is where I ordered mine:

The official Isle of Man TT website

And yes, Guy Martin is just a hoot to listen to. He should become an announcer when he retires from riding.

"Milky" Quayle, another old favorite, drives the tour bus around the island these days. Here's why:

YouTube - 160mph CRASH at the Isle of Man TT

Steve Plater... awesome video

Talent... yes, absolutely
Wisdom... no, not really

But I love it. It's probably the only remaining 'gladitorial' speed contest in the world. Definitely have to see this in person someday... and ride the course (much more slowly)