Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix

1. Huge entry confirmed for inaugural Classic TT Races

   Posted on 7:39am Friday 10th May 2013

   The Isle of Man Government, Department of Economic Development has attracted a huge entry for the Classic TT Races, the new motorcycle race meeting which takes place in August this year on the Isle of Man.

   Entries for the Classic TT, which forms part of the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling, closed on the 3rd May with two of the three main races oversubscribed. In total there were over 300 indivdiual entries and the line-up comprises a truly international field of riders including competitors from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, France, Germany, Belgium and Holland.

   Racing will get underway on Saturday 24th August with the 500cc Classic TT Race, which attracted an oversubscribed entry for the maximum 90 places on the Glencrutchery Road starting grid. The 500cc Race will turn back the clock with an array of racing machines from the 1960’s, with exotic multi cylinder bikes from manufacturers such as MV Agusta, Honda and Paton going up against the single cylinder British machines from iconic names such as Norton, Matchless and AJS.

   The second day of racing on the UK Bank Holiday - Monday 26th August - starts with the combined 350cc / 250cc Classic TT Races. There were over eighty entries across the two races, with the 350cc Race expected to be a battle between the host of Honda machines entered versus bikes from Aermacchi, Norton and AJS amongst others. The 250cc race entry is dominated by Suzuki machines, with a smaller number of Hondas, Ducatis and Kawasakis also featuring.

   The biggest entry overall comes in the combined Formula 1 / Formula 2 / Formula Classic Race which was significantly oversubscribed. Over 120 entries were received for the third and final race of the inaugural event. These three races run concurrently and will recreate scenes from the '70s, '80s and '90s with a mixture of Grand Prix racing two stroke machines and early Japanese Superbikes doing battle once again over the challenging TT Mountain Circuit.

   Some of the biggest names in modern day TT racing head the entry list with riders such as John McGuinness, Conor Cummins, Michael and William Dunlop, Gary Johnson, Cameron Donald and Bruce Anstey amongst many others all confirmed to appear. They won’t have it all their own way however, with Classic Racing specialists such as Roy Richardson, Alan Oversby, Olie Linsdell and Chris Palmer just some of the riders likely to be in contention in all of their races.

   The Classic TT has also drawn in the biggest teams and most respected machine builders from all over the world to compete. The Yamaha Classic Racing Team will make their one and only competitive racing outing at the Classic TT, with Team Classic Suzuki, a factory team from Norton Motorcycles, leading TT teams Padgett’s Motorcycles and CSC Racing and multiple Manx GP winners Team Winfield also taking part.

   The line up reads like a who’s who of classic racing royalty with individuals such as New Zealand’s Ken McIntosh and British engineering greats Dick Linton, Andy Molnar, Fred Walmsley, Tony Dunnell and John Davies all either entering their own machinery or heading up one of the major teams.

   Trevor Hussey, Head of Motorsport, Department of Economic Development commented: “Now the entry has closed for the first Classic TT Races we can start to get a real feel for the type of racing we can expect this coming August. A lot of hard work has gone in to assembling what we believe will be the best entry for a classic motorcycle race in the world this year, both in terms of numbers and the quality of riders and machinery and the Classic Racing community has really got behind what we are trying to do. There has been huge interest in the event for many months and we already have lots of enquires for 2014, never mind 2013.

   The Classic TT, along with the 90th Anniversary Manx Grand Prix, the Vintage Motor Cycle Club activities as well and the two off road trials events which together form the Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling look set to provide a welcome boost to visitor numbers. Early booking figures suggest significant numbers of visitors will attend the Festival whilst commercial interest, particularly in the Classic TT, has also been encouraging.”

2. Bruce Anstey to parade Britten V1000 at 2013 Classic TT Races

   Posted on 8:59am Thursday 2nd May 2013

   Nine time TT Race winner Bruce Anstey is set to parade one of the most iconic racing motorcycles of all time at the 2013 Classic TT Races - the Britten V1000. The bike was the brainchild of New Zealander John Britten, who designed and constructed them in his home workshop supported by an enthusiastic team of friends.

   The historic bike is one of only ten bikes that were manufactured in New Zealand with only three remaining in the country. The Britten family holds one; a second is housed in the country's national museum while the bike that will be appearing on the Isle of Man is the only one that is run in parades. The remaining seven are held overseas.

   The radically designed features on the bike include extensive use of carbon fibre for the chassis, girder forks, swing-arm and even the wheels while other aspects include air ducts for cooling directed through the petrol tank to the radiator under the seat and a home built programmable engine management computer with adjustment on the move.

   The bike has historic resonance on the Isle of Man as Nick Jefferies rode it in the 1994 Senior TT, recording a standing start lap of 118mph. Bruce will parade the machine as part of the Classic TT Lap of Honour on Monday 26th August as part of the inaugural Classic TT Races.

   Machine owner Kevin Grant commented: "Once I'd decided to bring the bike over for the parade there was only one rider that I wanted to ride the bike. It's entirely fitting that a bike so closely linked to New Zealand and the Isle of Man TT should have the country's most successful TT rider Bruce Anstey parading on the Mountain Course."

   Bruce Anstey commented: "It's going to be a real pleasure to ride a New Zealand built bike on the Isle of Man. The Britten is one of the country's greatest achievements. I'm really looking forward to taking it round the Mountain Course and I'm sure that fans will really enjoy the spectacle and sound of the machine."

3. TT Star Conor Cummins to ride Dunnell Manx Nortons

   Posted on 8:55am Monday 29th Apr 2013

   TT star Conor Cummins has today confirmed that he will contest the inaugural 500cc and 350cc Classic TT Races on board Manx Nortons built and prepared by Tony Dunnell, one of the most respected classic bike builders in the UK.

   The Ramsey Rocket was one of the first contemporary TT stars to show his support for the new Classic TT, signing up for the Formula 1 Race where he will ride an XR69 Suzuki for Team Classic Suzuki as team mate to fellow TT star Michael Dunlop. Adding his name to the provisional entry list for the 500cc and 350cc Classic TT Races, the Superbike TT Lap Record Holder's entry adds further spice to an already mouth watering line up.

   Tony Dunnell has a long association with the Isle of Man first as a competitor in the Manx Grand Prix and in later years as a sponsor and entrant. The Classic TT sees Tony return to race on the Isle of Man for the first time since 2009, and he will be providing Conor with the latest specification 500cc and 350cc Manx Nortons along with spare bikes for each class.

   Commenting on the news, Conor said: "I've wanted to support the Classic TT right from the start. I think it is an excellent idea and the interest since it was first announced has been amazing. I'm delighted to have been given the chance by Tony to ride his immaculate bikes, and it's great to be able to ride in all three races. It's going to be quite a challenge getting used to all these new bikes, but I'm lucky to have been asked to ride some of the best machines around and I want to reward the support being put in me with some top results."

   Tony Dunnell added: "We have been keen to be involved in the Classic TT since it was originally announced and to be able to do it with a rider of the calibre of Conor Cummins is very exciting. Conor's talent is unquestionable and we are committed to providing him with the very best bikes we can to match his ability."

   TT & Motorsport Development Manager, Paul Phillips commented: "We are delighted that we now have Conor Cummins confirmed for three races at the Classic TT. He is the Superbike TT Lap Record Holder, the second fastest rider around the Mountain Course ever, a works Yamaha rider and is always a big draw with the fans. We have been talking to Tony Dunnell about taking part for many months and we are really pleased that he is now supporting the event with his immaculate Manx Nortons."

4. Honda TT Legends forced to retire from the Bol d’Or

   Posted on 11:35am Sunday 21st Apr 2013

   John McGuinness started the race for the Honda TT Legends and the first few hours saw him, Simon Andrews and Michael Dunlop put in an impressive performance that took them from 28th to third place.

   As evening fell on the Magny Cours circuit in France, light rain caused a few incidents for other teams, but the Honda TT Legends settled into a steady fourth place, where they remained through the night until daybreak.     

   Just after 8am, Dunlop made an unexpected pit stop and the Honda TT Legends crew set to work, eventually identifying and fixing a problem with the heat exchanger. McGuinness re-joined the race in 13th place but unfortunately the irreparable damage to the engine had already been done and it subsequently overheated. He was forced to dismount and push the bike back to the pits on the first lap and the team retired from the race.

   The EWC will continue with the Suzuka 8-hour in Japan on 28 July.

   Neil Tuxworth   This is a very disappointing end for the team after all the hard work and effort everyone has put in. It’s unfortunate but we had a problem with the heat exchanger which caused the engine to overheat and fail towards the end of the race. It’s our first incomplete event in seven races and our first ever retirement from a 24 hour race, but it happens to everyone at some point and the main thing is that everyone is ok. We haven’t had any injuries to anybody and although there was some leakage from the bike, it doesn’t look like it caused problems to anybody else as the safety car came out very quickly. Like I say, very disappointing for everyone but we have to move on and look forward to the road races coming up in the next few months.       John McGuinness   We’re just gutted not to have finished. The lads have done so much work on the bike – new electronics, traction control – all sorts of bits and pieces that they’ve spent hundreds if not thousands of hours on. We’ve had a fantastic run of results up to now with seven races completed and we were looking good in the race. We were top five again and chipping away, but unfortunately we had a problem 18 hours in. I’m just speechless really, just gutted, but we’ll try and take the positives out of it. We were running a lot closer to some of our rivals so we can take that to the next round.     

   Simon Andrews   It had gone well up until that point. I did a good few stints at the beginning to get us up to fourth and I was happy enough with that. It’s a shame what’s happened for everyone because the guys have worked so hard. The chassis was working well and we had the quickest bike out there at some points, so it just would have been nice to reward everyone with a podium. We were third at one stage so to go from that position to coming away with no points at all is not fun, but that’s endurance racing. We can be happy with the hard work we’ve put in and the way we’ve worked together and we’ll look forward to the next round.     

   Michael Dunlop   It’s so disappointing for all the lads after all the hard work they’ve done. I really feel for them because it’s not just about us riders, it’s a massive team effort and they put so much into it. I just got my head down and got on with it, going with the flow really. It was going well up until that point, but we’ll go back and take a look at the bike and come back bigger and stronger next time.

5. TOP TT RIDERS HEAD TO THE ISLE OF MAN FOR THE LAUNCH OF TT2013

   Posted on 7:14am Saturday 6th Apr 2013

   The top TT riders are heading for the Isle of Man for the launch of the 2013 TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy and you can follow the event wherever you are in the world.

   The leading riders will all be appearing at the free Fan Party hosted by Manx Radio TT's Chris Kinley and Tim Glover, which kicks off at 7.30pm at the Villa Marina on Wednesday 10th April.

   This is your chance to hear the thoughts of all of the top riders as they get ready for this year's TT; from John McGuinness as he looks to add to his 19 race wins through to Australian Josh Brookes who will be taking part in his first TT. Other riders who will feature in the evening include race winners Bruce Anstey, Gary Johnson, Ian Lougher and Honda TT Legends team-mates Michael Rutter and Michael Dunlop while Cameron Donald is scheduled to link up live from Australia.

   You'll also get to hear from Dan Stewart, Conor Cummins, William Dunlop, Dean Harrison, Dan and Ryan Kneen and Simon Andrews while newcomers Horst Saiger, AJ Venter and the Isle of Man's Gav Hunt will be sharing their thoughts on tackling the TT Mountain Course for the first time.

   The sidecars will also be represented with 16 time champion Dave Molyneux and passenger Patrick Farrance heading the field. You'll also get the chance to get insights from current World sidecar champion Tim Reeves and his passenger Dan Sayle, and 2012 TT race winner John Holden and Andy Winkle.

   However, if you can't get to the Isle of Man you can still follow the event live via the iomtt.com website, which will be broadcasting the whole launch from the Villa Marina. It will also be broadcast live via Manx Radio and through the stations on-line service. You can also tweet your questions to the riders on the night to @iom_tt and presenter Chris Kinley will ask the best ones on the night.

   Anyone lucky enough to be on the Isle of Man can also meet the riders in Douglas at the Motorsport Merchandise store on Strand Street at 5pm on Tuesday 9th April where they will be signing autographs at the launch of the 2013 TT Merchandise collection - your chance to bag an early souvenir including the launch of new limited edition TT 2013 posters featuring new unique artwork of the leading TT stars.

   However, if all of this isn't enough you can still buy tickets to the 'TT Launch - Access All Areas', package which offers exclusive behind the scenes access at the launch including the opportunity to meet the riders behind the scenes at the official media launch during the day on Wednesday 10th April. The day will include breakfast reception, the chance to be pictured with all of the leading riders at a secret location as well as lunch. You'll then be transported back to the Villa Marina for an evening buffet with the riders followed by reserved seating at the public launch event. Tickets are available at £200 plus VAT from www.iomtt.com or official ticket and travel agency Regency Travel on 01624 694456.