Not a bike fan but I find the TT event addictive. Unbelievable speed and bottle 8) Anyone following it ?
Me, Its Scary :? I don't know whether you can say hey have bottle or they're just off their heads. Saw the video yesterday of the death of Simon Andrews in the NW200 on youtube, its horrific, I honestly don't know how they can do it :roll:
Without a doubt there are some "loose screws" with these guys. Like you Kev I just don't know how they do it. There is absolutely no margin for error.
Totally agree with the comments, I was watching it tonight & it was incredible how they push themselves and they come back year after year! Total respect to these guys for sure
yea mick , im following it watch it every night on itv4 , also waiting to see how mark higgins does in the subaru !!
I'm the same! Not a bike fan but really enjoy watching the nightly programmes. Its defo on my to-do list. RIP the 65 year old who died yesterday on the TT, apparently doing what he loved.
I'm over here at the moment with SoA and TEGSport trying to set a production car lap record with the new STi. The bikes are unbelievably quick - lying on the grass banking at Creg ny Baa whilst a 1000cc bike accelerates past you 2 feet away (really!), on it's back wheel, traction control barking away, rider looking over his shoulder and simultaneously ripping off a visor tear off is breathtaking. Still not quite as good as a shakedown run over the mountain in the record attempt car with Mark Higgins and certainly notihing compared with the privilege that is working alongside the legendary Geoff Hall
Yeh saw that about the 65 year guy that died, can't quite believe that they would allow that tbh. I know he's died doing something that he loved but i think there must/should be some sort of age limit in regards to how a person can react to whatever happens at such high speeds. I feel nervous watching it sometimes, i don't think if i went there to watch it live i would really enjoy the experience, i'd feel uncomfortable knowing what could so easily happen to any of them.
Quote taken from Scoobynet "Rumour has it a piston gave out on the mountain, Subaru UK are putting it down to driver error and totally nothing to do with bad pistons" I am saying nothing :roll: I think the official lap is 3.00pm today :wink:
Very, very sad news to read about Karl Harris or for that matter any competitor, spectator or visitor Sadly these stories blight the TT each year and always seem to make the news headlines when the racing, results or the spectacle rarely does and reflects badly on the sport as its nearly always an unbalanced view. On a general note and in line with the positive comments above, being a bike racing fan too, I've been to the TT & the Manx GP (and the southern 100) in the past and have marvelled at the spectacle and skill of these guys competing in what can only be described as the purest form of road racing, and thats what the appeal is for both competitor and fan alike. The pure adrenaline rush is why they do it. My younger brother used to race bikes many years ago and was reasonably successful at clubman / national level, he raced in the Manx GP and admitted that it takes a special kind of person to learn the IOM TT course and then to go faster, to be competitive. He only raced there once, he acknowledged that it maybe it wasnt for him but also that it is a supreme challenge and the ultimate rush, but was just too risky if you couldnt learn the place. But he had given it a go and enjoyed the experience. Life is full of risks, we just choose where to take them :!:
On a positive note, Mark Higgins has just recorded the fastest lap time for a car on the TT circuit - in a new Subaru STi
116.37mph average 8) Top speed of 162.9mph on the Sulby Straight and completing the 37.7-mile course in 19 minutes and 26 seconds. Higgins was driving a standard US-spec WRX STI, powered by a 301bhp 2.5-litre four-cylinder boxer engine. The only modifications were a roll cage in the back, new springs and dampers, uprated brake pads, a racing seat (and no passenger seat) and a straight-through exhaust
It was mate, nerves of steel and fantastic judgement. I read last night that he felt he lost 10 seconds in the mountains, so it could have been an unbelievable lap. Hats off to Higgins Final laps on Friday :wink:
