Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix

1. Isle of Man TT road racer Ian Hutchinson awarded the Royal Automobile Club’s Torrens Trophy

   Posted on 11:00am Saturday 13th Feb 2016

   Eleven-time TT winner Ian Hutchinson was awarded the Royal Automobile Club’s coveted Torrens Trophy at the Pall Mall clubhouse for his outstanding determination, courage and overcoming adversity to win multiple TT’s.

   The Torrens Trophy recognises an individual or organisation considered to have made an outstanding contribution to motorcycling in Britain. The Trophy was first awarded in 1978 in memory of Arthur Bourne, a motor cycling journalist and Vice Chairman of the Royal Automobile Club who wrote a column under the name Torrens. It has only been awarded nine times in its history and only when the club feels that the achievement justifies it.

   Upon receipt Hutchy said: ‘I am very proud to win the Torrens Trophy and be recognised by the Royal Automobile Club. It has been a fantastic year for me and I would like to extend a huge thanks to the team at Paul Bird Motorsport and Team Traction Control Yamaha and to my family for all the support through my days in hospital and recovery’.

   This year, was an exceedingly strong year for British motorcycle racing, resulting in a worthy crop of Trophy nominees, including Danny Kent who became the country’s first Grand Prix World Champion since Barry Sheene in 1977, Jonathan Rea who secured the World Superbike Championship and utterly dominated the 2015 season finishing on the podium in all but four races, Tai Woffindon who won the gruelling 2015 World Speedway Championships for the second time and then there was Ian Hutchinson, his dramatic return to the Isle of Man TT and whose hat trick of victories was awe-inspiring.

   With such a strong crop of potential worthy recipients, the Club’s Torrens Trophy Nominations Committee - consisting of Royal Automobile Club member Ben Cussons, Torrens Nomination Committee Chairman and ex-bike racer Barrie Baxter, well-respected motorcycle journalist Mat Oxley, former racer and commentator Steve Parrish and Arthur Bourne’s son Richard Bourne, debated long and hard. It was ultimately decided that ‘Hutchy’ would be awarded the Trophy.

   Barrie Baxter, Chairman of the Torrens Committee said: ‘Motorcycle racing can be a very punishing discipline, and Ian Hutchinson's inspirational journey is a testament to that. From nearly losing his leg and having to endure over 30 gruelling operations to returning to the pinnacle of a sport which dealt him a cruel blow and win multiple TT’s must be one of the sport's most courageous stories’.

   Understandably news of Hutchy winning the Torrens Trophy has been greeted with huge support from industry and fellow racers.

   TRIBUTES TO THE WINNER

   Former motorcycle commentator Murray Walker said: ‘I first went to the TT in 1925 and have been lucky enough to know most of the greats of our sport but none of them has earned my admiration and respect more than Ian Hutchinson. Uniquely to win five races in one TT year was amazing but even this was topped by Ian`s awesome courage and determination to race again after his subsequent appalling leg injuries. And now he has emphasised his skill and bravery by winning another three TTs in one week - plus a dominant victory at Macau. Truly brilliant! All done with quiet modesty and, as a truly worthy winner of the Torrens Trophy, Ian joins the legends of our great sport. I warmly congratulate him, salute his personality and achievements and look forward to following the development of his great career’.

   John Surtees CBE grew up reading the Torrens column during his motorcycling days. The racing legend also paid tribute saying: ‘I would like to congratulate Ian Hutchinson on receiving this award. I am particularly impressed that having first tasted success on the Isle of Man he should fight back from such adversity following that accident by returning to winning form in the 2015 TT. May I add my congratulations to this wonderful personal achievement’
   
   Former World Superbike Champion and previous Torrens Trophy recipient James Toseland said ‘To go from the highest point of his career to the lowest within days must have been a psychological rollercoaster to say the least. We are all very proud of Hutchy for keeping the belief and finding the inner strength to keep going through such adversity, pain and frustration for such a long period of time to being able to ride competitively again. To go from winning 5 TT's to nearly losing his leg to then get back onto the top step in one of the most physical motorcycle races there is, is an amazing achievement and show of character. Hutchy very much deserves this award today and I wish him all the very best for this season coming and hopefully many more TT victories to come!’.

   

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   The Royal Automobile Club was founded in 1897 and its distinguished history mirrors that of motoring itself. In 1907, King Edward VII awarded the Club its Royal title, sealing the Club’s status as Britain’s oldest and most influential motoring organisation.

   The Club’s early years were focused on promoting the motor car and its place in society, which developed into motoring events such as the 1000 Mile Trial, first held in 1900. In 1905, the Club held the first Tourist Trophy, which remains the oldest continuously competed for motor sports event. The Club promoted the first pre-war and post-war Grands Prix at Brooklands in 1926 and Silverstone in 1948 respectively, whilst continuing to campaign for the rights of the motorist, including introducing the first driving licences.

   Today, the Club continues to develop and support automobilism through representation on the Motor Sport Association (MSA), Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and RAC Foundation, while continuing to promote its own motoring events, such as the free-to-attend Regent Street Motor Show and the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which are two of the highlights of the Club’s London Motor Week, which next year runs from Monday 31 October to Sunday 6 November 2016

   The Royal Automobile Club also awards a series of historic trophies and medals celebrating motoring achievements. These include the Segrave Trophy, the Tourist Trophy, the Simms Medal, the Dewar Trophy, the Torrens Trophy and the Diamond Jubilee Trophy.

2. NORTHERN IRELAND’S SEAMUS ELLIOTT CONFIRMS TT RACES DEBUT IN 2016

   Posted on 12:00pm Thursday 11th Feb 2016

   Leading Irish Road Racing contender Seamus Elliott will make his Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy debut in 2016, competing in three of the six solo races.

   The Ballymoney rider will compete in the RST Superbike, RL360 and PokerStars Senior races on a Kawasaki ZX-10R for the peoplesbike.com team. Run by the enthusiastic Mark Cubbon, the peoplesbike.com have previously competed at the TT with a number of leading competitors including Steve Mercer, Dan Hegarty, Stephen Thompson and, more recently, Alan Bonner.

   Elliott has been a leading contender across the classes in both the Irish road races and at the Southern 100 and Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough meetings where he’s been a race winner and regular podium finisher. Indeed, 2015 saw one of his finest performances on the island when he took a superb win in the opening Supersport 600cc race at the Southern 100 ahead of riders including Dan Kneen, Ivan Lintin and Russ Mountford.

   Elliott also enjoyed an excellent week of racing at last year’s Ulster Grand Prix when he campaigned the Wilson Craig Racing Honda’s. His best result came in the opening Supersport race when he placed eighth but he also took tenth in the feature Superbike race and 11th in the Superstock encounter with his best lap overall being a more than impressive 128.297mph.

   At the Southern 100, Elliott has a personal best lap of 109.077mph which he recorded on his way to claiming seventh in the 2014 Solo Championship whilst he’s also been a regular front runner in the aforementioned Supersport races, something he’s achieved on a regular basis at Oliver’s Mount.

   In his homeland, he was in contention for the Supersport race wins throughout 2015, eventually finishing third overall in the Irish Road Racing Championship whilst he also scored impressive top six finishes in the 2014 Irish Road Racing Superbike and Supersport Championships. He’s also been a regular podium finisher in the 250cc and Moto 3 categories further proving his versatility.

   Elliott has proven to be one of the most consistent performers in recent years in Irish road racing and his debut at the TT is much anticipated given the excellent results he has already achieved elsewhere in his career.

   Popular fan backed TT team thepeoplesbike will be returning for its eighth TT Races campaign with Elliott becoming the latest in a long list of notable riders to represent the team since their inception in 2009. This unique team is partly funded by race fans, who have their picture on the bikes fairings, as well as receiving an open invitation to the team's awnings during the TT to enjoy a brew with the team in return for their support.

   The team will post their official T-shirt, cap and signed photo to team sponsors anywhere in the world. During qualifying and race week the team will be tweeting live from the paddock and grid. Photographs will be posted daily on the team's facebook page and website so fans can follow their progress.

   Check out the team's website www.thepeoplesbike.com to see how you can become part of this unique team.

   Commenting on his Isle of Man TT Races debut, Seamus said:

   “We’ve been trying to get over to the TT races for a few years so It’s brilliant that it’s finally come together and I’ve now got this chance, particularly with a team as strong as the peoplesbike who know the Island and what you need to do to run a proper campaign.”

   He continued:

   “I’ve started to learn the course and I was over on the Isle of Man at the weekend with the rider liaison officers which really got me excited for the races and I just want to repay the faith that the team has in me.”

3. ARAI UNVEILS 2016 LIMITED EDITION ISLE OF MAN TT RACES HELMET

   Posted on 12:00pm Wednesday 10th Feb 2016

   One of the highlights in the Arai range is undoubtedly the introduction of the new limited Isle of Man TT Races helmet.

   Arai and the Isle of Man TT have a long-standing partnership and part of it is the annual introduction of a special, always limited edition helmet. 

   As a result of Arai’s exclusive license and official partnership, Arai is the only helmet that carries the world famous official TT logo as part of the helmet design. Undoubtedly the new Arai RX-7V with its revolutionary VAS visor system was the obvious choice for this special helmet.

   From the very beginning Italian top designer Aldo Drudi has been the designer and creator of these very popular models and certain details are ever present in his TT designs. As well as the famous three-legged symbol (the ‘’Triskelion’’), the words ‘’Ellan Vannin’’ which is the Manx-language name of the Isle of Man have been used on every design.

   These references and the well-known Isle of Man TT Races logo form an integral part of this new 2016 design. Again Drudi has managed to create a helmet complete in the spirit of the existing Isle of Man TT range, but still different from all its successors.

   The 2016 Arai TT helmet will be handmade in a limited production run. After these have been made, no more of this helmet will be produced.

   The very first Isle of Man TT 2016 helmets will be available in the Arai village on the first TT practice day on Saturday May 28th from the Arai service centre in the Isle of Man TT paddock. From then on, the Arai Isle of Man TT 2016 Limited Edition will be available through all European Arai dealers.

4. FORMER WORLD SUPERBIKE RIDER ALESSANDRO POLITA TO MAKE TT RACES DEBUT IN 2016

   Posted on 10:00am Friday 5th Feb 2016

   Former World Superbike Championship rider and double Italian Superbike Champion Alessandro Polita will make his TT Races debut at the 2016 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy, contesting all three 1000cc races.

   The Italian will ride a 1000cc BMW S1000R for former TT competitor Roberto Antonellini in the RST Superbike, RL360 Superstock and PokerStars Senior TT Races and will aim to follow in the footsteps of countrymen Alessio Corradi and Stefano Bonetti who have both impressed in recent years.

   The 31-year old came to prominence in 2005 when he finished fourth in the European Superstock 1000cc Championship and a year later he went on to win the title. Riding for Team Celani Suzuki, Polita took three wins and eight podiums that season to take the championship from Claudio Corti and Luca Scassa.

   That paved the way to a move into the premier World Superbike Championship in 2007 where he impressively scored points on five occasions despite being on board the relatively uncompetitive GSXR 1000 K6 Suzuki. Subsequently, he moved back into the European Superstock 1000cc Championship for 2008 where he again proved his talent with third overall, just missing out on a second title by ten points.

   Riding this time for the Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati squad, the Jesi resident won at Misano and stood on the podium at Monza, Brno and Donington Park to finish behind Brendan Roberts and Maxime Berger in the final Championship table.

   2009 should have seen him continue with Team Sterilgarda and return to the World Superbike Championship as team-mate to Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne but the global economic crisis intervened and the team were forced to cut back to running just the British rider. As a result, Polita switched to the World Supersport Championship for a number of races before rejoining Team Celani.

   For 2010, he moved into the Italian Superbike Championship riding a Ducati 1098R for Barni Racing and it proved to be a successful season as he won the title with a round to spare, ending the year a comfortable 41 points clear of team-mate Stefano Cruciani. The partnership continued into 2011 where Polita again contested the Italian Superbike Championship as well as picking up points as a wild card at the Imola and Misano World Superbike Championship rounds.

   Polita again scored points in the World Superbike Championship in 2012 when he rode for the Red Devils Roma Ducati team and since then he has been highly successful in the Italian championship riding for the Guandalini Racing and BMW teams.

   His presence on the grid in June adds both International and world class flavour to what is already shaping up to be yet another stunning entry and although 2016 will very much be a learning year, Polita’s World Championship credentials should ensure his performances are credible.

   Commenting ahead of his TT Races debut, Polita said: "Returning from a weekend to the Island of Man, I’ve had the chance to reflect on my first steps that will lead me to one of the most important international motorcycling events for my career.
   Taking in the Island, studying the course supervised by the hugely knowledgeable Richard 'Milky' Quayle, I understand the great honor that I have in being part of this great road racers family.”

   He continued: “We studied every centimetre of the Island, and I am committed to fully live this adventure, as I always I said, without any ambitions or targets, but with only the need to find and experience again those feelings and emotions that only those who live in the motorcycling world can feel racing a motorcycle.”

5. SUCCESSFUL FIRST TEST FOR WILLIAM DUNLOP WITH MSS COLCHESTER KAWASAKI

   Posted on 10:00am Saturday 30th Jan 2016

   William Dunlop and MSS Colchester Kawasaki enjoyed a successful first outing at Cartagena in Spain this week, as they continue their preparations for the ‘Roads’ and selected National Superstock rounds.

   The experienced Northern Irish rider worked through a number of engine, chassis and tyre evaluations on the all new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R over 130 laps at the circuit. Most impressively Dunlop logged his fastest ever time round the track, despite the bike being at the very start of its development cycle and cool track temperatures.

   Also present at the test was tyre company Metzeler who support the rider and team in their Roads efforts. Metzeler Racing Manager Jason Griffiths was in attendance bringing tyres and helping to analyse edge grip, feel and durability with the team. As part of MSS’s Team Green technical support, the bike was also tested in standard trim giving valuable data for Team Green and Kawasaki Motors UK.

   William will be riding the Superstock Kawasaki at the Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, North West 200 and the Ulster GP along with Irish National road races. He will also be campaigning in selected National Superstock races at the MCE British Superbike Championship to work on his race pace.

   William Dunlop commented:

   “It was a really positive test and important to get a good run of track time on what basically started out as a road bike with some suspension on it. I would never have imagined to make my fastest ever laps around Cartagena on such a bike and to do that even with making changes and getting over small issues is a testament to the team.”

   He continued:

   “Nick and Jeb have so much experience on what makes the bike work that they made the job easy and enjoyable for me. As everyone knows if you’re enjoying riding you go fast. It’s quite funny as that was the first time I’d actually properly met Nick!
   It was also great to have the support of Jason and Metzeler out there, it gives me so much confidence having worked the tyres so hard. I’m happy and looking forward to the next test.”

   MSS Owner Nick Morgan added:

   “I’ll be honest we approached the test not really knowing what to expect as we weren’t looking for an outright fast circuit lap, which is what made the result so satisfying. It exceeded my expectations, we got through so much testing and information while William is so methodical and professional to work with it was a pleasure.”

   He continued:

   “We managed to maximise the available track time and No Limits were very supportive in that respect and worked on edge grip, throttle connection throughout the whole powerband plus the new ‘fly by wire’ on the 2016 ZX-10R. William had never ridden a ZX-10R so it was acclimatisation but we soon realised that we were into proper testing territory and it was great to see him achieve his fastest ever time round there, perfect!”

   

    

   SUCCESSFUL FIRST TEST FOR WILLIAM DUNLOP WITH MSS COLCHESTER KAWASAKI - Credit Photography to Pete Wileman