I didn’t click many pictures as I was busy trying to stop my jaw from hitting the floor. After this spectacle, MotoGP seems so civilized and cosseted.
BHPian deepfreak15 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
By some quirk of fate, I had relocated to the UK at the start of the year on a short-term work assignment. My focus was entirely on getting stuff wrapped up back home and starting all over again in a new country. Just as I was getting to grips, the first bank holiday came up at the start of May and to celebrate we made a trip to the Lake district and that blew our holiday budget (trains are frightfully expensive). I had taken a sabbatical from social media so wasn’t up to date on motorsport events when all of a sudden my Google feed started filling up with news of the TT. Quick check on the last remaining accommodation options and travel budget and it was evident I couldn’t afford it so resigned my fate to waiting for the next year. I managed to reconcile with that thought till the 27th of May.
Come Monday I just could not take it any longer, checked the race schedule and saw there was qualifying on the 30th and 31st of May. My work schedule had totally blocked out the 1st week of June so decided to book the first flight from London to the Isle of Man and the last flight from the Isle of Man to London on the 31st of May. I read fellow bhpian RiderZone’s experience but soon came to the conclusion I might have bitten off more than I could chew. In a last-ditch effort and out of desperation I reached out to a very close “friend”, he is a “big shot” in the motorcycle industry and told him my plight (words in quotes are because I know he will get a kick out of this if he reads it). I was fully resigned to the fact that my wife and I would land and if we saw one motorcycle ride by I would call it a win. Boy did he come through.
He quickly put me in touch with a journo I used to watch in awe on YouTube, he famously used to say “You know if a bike is good or not by the way it wheelies” but that was his old life and now he has moved into the corporate world and works with a luxury automotive OEM at the moment. What was more important was that he has never missed the TT and is very passionate about it. I messaged him on WhatsApp and told him my plight, he asked me to wait for a day and the next day sent me a one-day itinerary with instructions that would put the best travel agents to shame.
Boarded the flight and followed his instructions to the “T”. This might sound cliched and even RiderZone said it but I have to say it, You have to be there to experience the vibe! Everyone is so friendly, you can sit at any table and strike up a conversation with anyone and not feel out of place. When I told people we were there only for a day the incredulous looks I got made me start questioning my sanity but the common response with a knowing smile was “You will be back for longer next year”.
You walk across the grounds past the grandstand
And suddenly find yourself in a maze of makeshift pits and then slowly it dawns on you that you are among TT royalty, guys about to tear around the island at death-defying speeds cheerfully working on their bikes or sidecars and stopping for a quick chat or photo op.
I still can’t believe I bumped into Dean Harrison and the fool that I am could only manage to shake his hand and say “Have a good one” I’m still kicking myself for not having clicked a picture with him or said something more intelligent.
I had two recommendations, walk around 5 minutes from the starting point and watch the riders from St Ninians crossroad or if I had time take a taxi till Hillberry and watch it from there. Considering the previous day’s sessions had to be cancelled (due to a reckless non-racing rider paying the ultimate price) and was squeezed into the 31st schedule I did not want to travel far out and miss my return flight. How this works is the roads are open for the public until a fixed time and then the roads are shut and post the sessions the roads are open for a bit and then closed again. During these open windows, you can move around the island to get to another spot but there are some riders who take undue risks and if there is an incident it can cause indefinite closures and a general inconvenience. So we decided to play it safe this time and parked ourselves at a wall at St Ninians an hour before the first closure, gets pretty crowded and everyone settles in with deck chairs and refreshments so hoping someone would move away and make room for you may not be a great idea though people are really friendly and if they can spare a gap they oblige real quick. It’s not hyperbole when I say “Name a bike and it is there on the island” From 50cc mopeds and scooters to the most exotic tourers and Supersports, ATVs and dirt bikes it’s a right royal mela with everyone having a great time.
I’m not going to talk about what it’s like to watch a motorcycle or sidecar blast past you at 300kmph because you have to be there to comprehend it but I will say, the motorcycle marshal rode by at a “sedate” 150 to 200kmph pace and my wife went “wow that’s so fast, it was funny to see her eyes become the size of saucers when the bikes went by for the second lap with wheels in the air”. I’m sorry I didn’t click a ton of pictures as I was busy trying to stop my jaw from hitting the floor.
If you can have someone else take your picture, do that, you could take a selfie but you will end up missing a lot of the action.
After this spectacle, MotoGP seems so civilized and cosseted
You sir are a legend! Your input was amazing and made life so much more easier for us. I’m pretty sure if not for your guidance I would have been dragging my poor wife all over the island a missed a ton of stuff! But not only that, you gave us a great TT experience and introduced us to some uber cool mottarad honchos (read, the guys behind the 2023 Hickman M1000XR exhibition). It was a surreal experience and a pleasure listening to all your insights into the event and the riders, though I did have a tad bit of imposter syndrome.
But the most invaluable tip of all was that ice cream truck! I have never had a better cold serve in my life and would have not even known about it had John not pointed that out!
We had to skip the second session and head back to the airport. Funny thing is the airport is sponsored by Monster Energy- show me a cooler airport, I dare you!
I have made a mental note to start planning for the next year as soon as the final race is done, yeah bookings start immediately from 10th June 2024 for the 2025 TT.
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