The Isle of Man TT races have come and gone for another year. On my “bucket list” of things to do before I die, this year I have been fortunate (if that’s the right word) to have several acquaintances who went over for the races and have kept us well informed of goings-on over there. Bathurst photographer, Grant Paterson, was on his first visit there and was blown away by the atmosphere. His photos and insights have been greatly appreciated, especially the time he took to photograph the Memorial Wall behind the grandstand and the plaque there in memory of Kenny Blake, who lost his life at the TT 21 years ago last Saturday. Thanks, mate.
This plaque is, of course, exactly the same as the one which is placed on his grave in the cemetery in Melbourne which I was able to visit last year.
On completely the other side of the street, so to speak, the Coburn brothers, Vaughan and Leon, also travelled to the island and reported a more informal flavour of the races, as only they can. Their perceptions and contributions were also appreciated!
The last race of the weekend, the second Superbike race was cancelled for the first time since WWII due to rain and fog, prompting some old sages to opine that the current crop of riders have gone a bit “soft” these days. That’s as maybe, but Stanley Woods and Mike Hailwood, for all their bravery and courage, weren’t travelling anywhere near the speed that the current riders do on their 200+ horsepower superbikes so, perhaps we can allow them the luxury of saying what is safe and what isn’t.
And, speaking of safety, the insane practice of “Mad Sunday” where the race track is thrown open for anyone to ride it must surely be coming to an end. This year 5 people died in incidents on Mad Sunday, 4 riders and a pedestrian who was killed while trying to cross the road.
Much has been made over the last few years about the electric bikes. I’m sorry, I just can’t see the point. Dead-end technology with no application in the real world. Spend the money on something worthwhile, guys.
Congratulations to all the winners, and especially to “McPint”, John McGuiness who scored his 19th TT win. Go the Hondas (1,2,3 in the Superbike race)
At Misano last weekend, local favourite, Max Biaggi, did what he was expected to do, scoring a “double” and increasing his lead in the title race (not a little assisted by Marco Melandri’s cleaning up of Carlos Checa, an incident for which he has since apologised). Former WSS champion, Kenan Sofoglu, won the Supersport race with Aussies in the top 10 (Broc Parkes 4th and Jed Metcher 7th) but many seconds behind the winners.
Europe is a buzz at the moment with the prospect of BMW releasing a naked version of the S1000, visordown web site publishing some grainy, but interesting “spy” shots today.
A foul day here, weather-wise, yesterday with rain and winds. Hopefully it will clear today. Totally unlike the wonderful weather that we had in Canberra on Sunday for the photo shoot. Follow the link below to see the photos behind the photos.
