Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix

1. HARRISON ON A CHARGE AT THE CLASSIC TT WHILE ANSTEY JOINS EXPANDING LIST OF CONTENDERS

   Posted on 10:00pm Thursday 25th Aug 2016

   Conditions on the Isle of Man were definitely cooler than last night but the pace was heating up in the Superbike class with Dean Harrison posting the fastest time of the week to date – 123.580mph - on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki.

   The session got underway promptly at 6.20 and Michael Rutter on the Harris Yamaha was first to the first timing point at Glen Helen, three seconds ahead of Harrison. The Midlands based rider had extended that to almost six seconds by Ramsey but was reported to have retired shortly after at the Waterworks, leaving Harrison to top the board with his opening lap.

   Bruce Anstey also completed his first lap on the Valvoline Racing by Padgetts Motorcycles YZR 500 with 121.18 while Danny Webb (120.12) clocked his first 120mph of the meeting on the Team Classic Suzuki XR69.

   Gary Johnson (Team York Suzuki) and James Hillier (Greenall Racing Kawasaki) both moved into the overall top five leaderboard in the Superbike class with impressive opening laps of 122.56mph and 122.12mph respectively while Jamie Coward on the Mistral Racing Kawasaki also posted his first 120mph lap of the meeting.

   Meanwhile Michael Dunlop, after some chassis changes, posted a relatively sedate time – for him - of 120.51 and Ivan Lintin, another rider who was high up on the overall leaderboard, was reported as an early retirement at Ballacraine.

   In the Lightweight Classic TT class Manx rider Ryan Kneen posted the fastest lap of the class on the night with a lap of 111.63 and moved into the top three overall in qualifying, behind Ian Lougher’s time from Tuesday and Bruce Anstey’s from Wednesday. Davy Morgan and Phil Harvey also clocked laps of over 109mph.

   However with riders in both classes still on the course the session was red flagged from sectors 1 to 8 following an incident at Churchtown on the approach to Ramsey in the concurrent Manx Grand Prix qualifying session and the session was brought to a halt shortly before 6.45.

   It was a shame for Dean Harrison as the Bradford rider was on a charge on his second – flying - lap and had reached Glen Helen in a time of 4.28.077, five seconds faster than Rutter’s time for the sector on his opening lap and ten seconds ahead of his own time on the first lap.

   Unfortunately, while the road was being swept ahead of the Classic TT Junior and Senior Classic TT session, the mist came in on the mountain section and Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson ended the session at 7.20pm.

   As a result of this evening’s shortened session, Gary Thompson announced, in a change to tomorrow’s final qualifying session schedule, that the Classic TT Senior and Junior machines would have first use of the track followed by the Superbikes and Lightweight machines.

   
   Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available for Friday’s final qualifying session priced at £5. All prior qualifying sessions are free for the main Grandstand. There are also race day tickets available for both Classic TT race days on Saturday 27th and Monday 29th August as well as VIP and Platinum hospitality tickets. To purchase tickets go to iomtt.com or phone Duke Marketing on (00 44) 1624 640011

    

2. CLASSIC TT SET TO BURST INTO LIFE WITH PADDOCK CARNIVAL

   Posted on 5:00pm Tuesday 23rd Aug 2016

   The Classic TT presented by Bennetts is set to burst into life on Friday 26th August with the now traditional ‘Paddock Carnival’ at the TT Grandstand ahead of the evening’s final qualifying session and the two race days on Saturday 27th and Monday 29th August.

   Eight time TT Race winner Charlie Williams will be the host for the day, which will feature upbeat music from local Jazz combo the Manx Jazz Aces, who will be performing two shows on the stage behind the grandstand.

   The packed line up, which is free to attend, will also include a solo appearance by Barrule’s Jamie Smith as well as the ever-popular Graeme Hardy offering up his uncanny George Formby tribute, complete with ‘Shuttleworth Snap’.

   The stage behind the grandstand will also play host to a series of chat shows with motorcycling legends who will be on the Island for the Classic TT including World Formula 1 Championship winner and three time TT Race winner Graeme Crosby, and WSB race winner Pierfrancesco ‘Frankie’ Chili as well as current TT stars John McGuinness, Dean Harrison, Michael Dunlop and Bruce Anstey amongst others.

   The Purple Helmets stunt show will be bringing their riotous antics to pit lane with their heady mixture of the spectacular and farcical while Bruce Anstey has been known to join their ranks for guest appearances.

   Visitors to the Classic TT celebrations will have the chance to enjoy the spectacular Concours d’Elegance, which will be held in Nobles Park, with both cars and bikes on display. Categories include ‘Best Racing Motorcycle and Best Classic and Vintage Road Motorcycle as well as three categories for cars - pre 1946, 1946-68 and 1969-86) this is over on Noble’s Park. Anyone wishing to enter should bring their machine to the grandstand from 12 noon on Friday.

   Isle of Man based event organisers Fairplay will be bringing their family fairground rides and entertainment to Nobles Park to ensure fun for all ages while there will also be plenty of opportunities for refreshments and local ice cream to revive flagging tots.

   David Cretney, the Isle of Man Government’s representative for Tourism and Motorsport commented:

   “We have created a packed programme of entertainment for both visitors and residents of all ages as part of a programme to grow and promote the Classic TT Festival. The entertainment schedule has been put together to offer something for everyone, not just motorbike fans, and I hope as many people as possible come down and enjoy the free day.”

   Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available for Friday’s final qualifying session priced at £5. All prior qualifying sessions are free for the main Grandstand. There are also race day tickets available for both Classic TT race days on Saturday 27th and Monday 29th August as well as VIP and Platinum hospitality tickets. To purchase tickets go to iomtt.com or phone Duke Marketing on (00 44) 1624 640011

    

3. DUNLOP QUICKLY UP TO SPEED IN CLASSIC TT QUALIFYING

   Posted on 10:00pm Monday 22nd Aug 2016

   After the frustration of Saturday’s cancelled session, the weather improved allowing a full qualifying session for the 2016 Classic TT presented by Bennetts on the Isle of Man tonight.

   Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson MBE got the session away at 6.25pm, advising competitors that there were a number of damp patches around the course including Doran’s, Laurel Bank, Glen Helen, Sulby, 27th and Governors following the rain earlier in the day.

   First away were the newcomers on their untimed speed controlled lap, which was held over from Saturday, including Junior Classic TT competitor Ian Thompson from Northern Ireland on MB Racing Honda, Carl Salvage on the TZ250 Yamaha and Gary Hutton competing in the Senior on a Hutton Racing Honda.

   The Classic TT Superbikes and Lightweight competitors had the first opportunity for timed qualifying laps. Notable early starters in the Superbike class included last year’s race winner Michael Dunlop on the Team Classic Suzuki XR69, Steve Mercer, looking for his first Mountain Course podium on the Mistral Racing Kawasaki and Ivan Lintin, recovering from an accident at Scarborough, on the Devitt/RC Express Racing Kawasaki.

   Those three were the fastest in the session with Dunlop’s 121.133 (18:41.317) topping the board with his only lap in the Superbike session from Mercer who posted 118.203 (19:09.107) on his second lap with Lintin clocking 117.995 (19:11.136) to complete the top three.

   Gary Johnson, a late replacement for the injured Dave Johnson on the Team York Suzuki, posted 117.805 on only his second lap on the bike with the Kawasaki’s of James Hillier (Greenhall Racing) and Dean Harrison (Silicone Engineering) completing the top six.

   Alan Thomas from Wales was reported off at the Water Works during the Superbike session but was uninjured.

   In the Lightweight session, Bruce Anstey was an early retirement at Kirk Michael on his opening lap on the much-anticipated Valvoline Racing by Padgetts Motorcycles 250 Honda. Welshman Ian Lougher (113.363mph/ 19:58.172) on the Laylaw Racing Yamaha on which he won the 2014 F2 Race was the fastest, from Phil Harvey (107.046/ 21:08.851) and Chris Moore (105.244/ 21:30.605).

   The Junior (350’s) and Senior (500’s) Classic TT sessions got away on time at 7.10pm. All eyes were on Michael Dunlop, a late replacement for the injured Lee Johnston on the Black Eagle Racing MV, but he was reported as an early retirement.

   Twenty-three time TT Race winner John McGuinness riding Roger Winfield’s Paton will be hoping to break his Classic TT duck and posted the evening’s fastest time in the class on his second lap of the night with 107.089 (21:08.362) from 2015 race winner Dean Harrison (106.746/ 21:12.446) riding the Black Eagle MV with Michael Rutter on the Ripley Land Racing Seeley the third fastest in the session with 104.373/ 21:41.376. Conor Cummins enjoyed his first ride on the second Team Winfield Paton with an opening lap of 103.081/ 21:57.688).

   Michael Rutter, the 2015 350cc race winner, will again be the man to beat in the newly named Junior Classic TT, topping the Junior board in the opening session on his Ripley Land Racing Honda with 99.501 (22.45.097) from fellow Honda riders Jamie Coward (Ted Woof) and Alan Oversby (Davies Motorsport).

   Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available for Friday’s final qualifying session priced at £5. All prior qualifying sessions are free for the main Grandstand. There are also race day tickets available for both Classic TT race days on Saturday 27th and Monday 29th August as well as VIP and Platinum hospitality tickets. To purchase tickets go to iomtt.com or phone Duke Marketing on (00 44) 1624 640011

    

4. CAMERON DONALD SET TO RIDE EGLI-VINCENT 500

   Posted on 6:00pm Monday 22nd Aug 2016

   IN BENNETTS SENIOR CLASSIC TT RACE

   Cameron Donald will be riding one of the more esoteric machines at this year’s Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts as he prepares for tonight’s first qualifying session on the Isle of Man.

   The Australian will be riding an Egli-Vincent but not the better known 1000cc 50 degree twin powered version but a 500cc single.

   Swiss chassis designer Fritz Egli built his first examples around the Vincent 1000cc Black Shadow powerplant. As a racer at the time, he did this to improve handling performance in his bid to win the 1968 Swiss hillclimb championship. The Egli chassis name has since become synonymous with racing success with its iconic large-diameter frame designs.

   Designed by Australian Phil Irving, the 499cc OHV air-cooled engine was the first built ‘in house’ by Vincent. It was used in four different road-going models, from the entry-level Meteor to the sporty Comet.

   Vincent also produced the ‘Grey Flash’ racer that was not only lighter but also more powerful and strictly for circuit use. Between 1949 and 1952 just 31 examples of the Grey Flash were produced making this one of the rarest Vincent models.

   Four times world 500cc champion John Surtees first made headlines aboard the Grey Flash at the age of just 16. An apprentice at the Vincent factory at the time, John gave well-known team Norton rider Geoff Duke a great battle at the Thruxton British championship race. John went on to win many races with his Grey Flash as he emerged a champion of the future.

   Luis Gallur, the bike’s owner is a Sydney-based motorcycle collector with a passion for Egli and Vincent who longed for an Egli-Vincent Black Shadow. He succeeded in buying Fritz Egli’s own bike and the original 500cc Vincent race bike but Fritz did not want to sell the original twin-cylinder Egli-Vincent, the bike that started the famous frame and motorcycle business.

   Fritz did however agree to build Luis a recreation of the bike, with the production of key components outsourced to Patrick Godet who builds bespoke replicas of the original Egli-Vincents and is the only person authorised by Fritz to do so.

   Once the bike was completed Fritz informed Luis that Patrick had begun working on a secret project to fulfil a long-term ambition of building a competitive 500cc classic racer. One of Patrick Godet’s goals was to prove that by building his replica engine to a high specification, the bike could deliver on its potential and achieve a podium on the challenging Mountain Course circuit.

   The original 500cc Grey Flash didn’t reach the level of success the Vincent factory had hoped for. It struggled against its competition, unlike the larger-capacity Vincent twins. Many, including Luis, Patrick and Fritz, believe the 500cc engine never reached its full potential.

   Luis has two experienced team members working full time on the bike including former Yamaha factory racing engineer Dudley Lister and engine building guru Peter Malloy who are confident that they can find significant power improvement.

   Cameron Donald said:

   “I have no illusion of how difficult a task it will be to get the bike onto the podium – the TT course is brutal on machinery. Top teams have decades of experience in building bikes capable of withstanding the torture. Add to this, a single-cylinder Vincent has never been among the TT frontrunners.”

   He continued:

   “It has been some time since I’ve raced a 500cc classic single and I’ve had to readapt my style to suit the low-powered thoroughbred. A regular diet of modern bikes makes it easy to become complacent about having excess power on hand. Aboard a 500cc single the key is to carry your speed through the turns and maintain momentum. You can quickly spoil your lap time with a mistake as simple as running off line in a corner that then requires you to close the throttle. This is what I like most about racing this class of bikes, smooth riding and precise rider inputs is the only way to get results, and that’s easier said than done.”

   He concluded:

   “We are now really close to the bike’s Isle of Man debut and I can feel a positive momentum building in the team. Luis’ passionate vision of a single-cylinder Vincent succeeding at the Isle of Man is getting closer and I'm relishing the challenge as the rider to take it there.”

   Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available for Friday’s final qualifying session priced at £5. All prior qualifying sessions are free for the main Grandstand. There are also race day tickets available for both Classic TT race days on Saturday 27th and Monday 29th August as well as VIP and Platinum hospitality tickets. To purchase tickets go to iomtt.com or phone Duke Marketing on (00 44) 1624 640011

5. ANSTEY HEADS LARGE ENTRY FOR INAUGURAL SURE LIGHTWEIGHT CLASSIC TT RACE

   Posted on 12:00pm Saturday 20th Aug 2016

   The superb sound and sight of the two strokes will grace the Mountain Course once more on Saturday August 26th with the newly introduced Sure Lightweight Race one of the feature events at this year’s Classic TT presented by Bennetts.

   The move to introduce the race to the schedule has seen a huge level of interest and no less than 55 entries have been received with the majority mounted on either the iconic TZ250 Yamaha or RS250 Honda.

   Fittingly Bruce Anstey, the man who won the last Lightweight TT race around the Mountain Course in 2002, heads the entry. The Kiwi lapped at 118.03mph that day, just outside John McGuinness’ 1999 lap record of 118.29mph, and the 11-time TT race winner was one of the first entries received for this year’s race.  The 47-year old will ride a Valvoline Racing by Padgetts Motorcycles Honda. Clive Padgett’s expertise combined with Anstey’s supreme talent makes the combination the pre-race favourites for the four-lap race.

   The grid is full of quality riders, none more so than the winners of the last two F2 races, Ian Lougher and Ryan Kneen, so an Anstey win isn’t a foregone conclusion. Lougher will again ride for the Laylaw Racing team on a new TZ250 Yamaha while Kneen will also be Yamaha-mounted riding for CBG Contractors. The Manxman lapped in excess of 113mph twelve months ago to edge out James Cowton and will be keen to add another win to his CV.

   Cowton will again line up this year although his machine is yet to be confirmed while former British champion Dan Cooper is another potential race winner. The Stroud rider, who recently took his maiden International road race victory at the Ulster Grand Prix, will ride a TZ Yamaha for Turner Racing.

   Kneen’s elder brother Dan has his first taste of two-stroke action around the 37 and ¾-mile course, riding John Chapman’s immaculate RS250 Honda with Irishman Michael Sweeney joining Lougher at Laylaw Racing. Class veterans Davy Morgan (Strangford Holiday Park Honda), Paul Owen (Team #98 Honda) and Phil Harvey (CSC Racing Honda) should also be towards the front of the field.

   Charles Rhys Hardisty, third in last year’s F2 race, returns on the REPS Motorcycles/KayMac Yamaha as does fourth placed Chris Moore on a similar machine entered by the JL Exhausts Racing/AMCS team with Olie Linsdell another rider expected to lap above 110mph on the Peter Berwick/Flitwick Motorcycles Yamaha.

   Last year’s Manx GP winner Gary Vines brings his immaculate Online Lubricants Yamaha to the grid with TT regular Dan Stewart (Wilcock Consulting Yamaha), reigning TT Privateers Champion Dan Hegarty (Atherstone Accident and Repair Centre Yamaha) and Rob Hodson (Declans Racing Yamaha) three more riders making their two-stroke debuts around the Mountain Course.

   Regular TT and Southern 100 competitor Anthony Redmond adds variety to the line-up on the DMW Racing entered Aprilia with further names to keep an eye on including Frenchman Timothee Monot (TMR Honda), Neal Champion (250 Frasers Motorcycles Yamaha), Dave Hewson (Obsession Engineering Yamaha) and Tom Snow (FCL Racing Yamaha).

   Neil Kernohan, recent winner of the 250cc race at the Ulster Grand Prix rides the same Logan Racing Honda whilst former British Championship runner Carl Salvage makes his Mountain Course debut on the Keppel Outhwaite Racing Yamaha.

   Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available for Friday’s final qualifying session priced at £5.  All prior qualifying sessions are free for the main Grandstand.  There are also race day tickets available for both Classic TT race days on Saturday 27th and Monday 29th August as well as VIP and Platinum hospitality tickets. To purchase tickets go to iomtt.com or phone Duke Marketing on (00 44) 1624 640011.

   Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available for Friday’s final qualifying session priced at £5.  All prior qualifying sessions are free for the main Grandstand.  There are also race day tickets available for both Classic TT race days on Saturday 27th and Monday 29th August as well as VIP and Platinum hospitality tickets. To purchase tickets go to iomtt.com or phone Duke Marketing on (00 44) 1624 640 011