Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix

1. Honda TT Legends ready to fight on familiar ground

   Posted on 12:00am Monday 30th May 2011

   After contesting the first two rounds of the Endurance World Championship as an all-new outfit, the Honda TT Legends team heads to more familiar ground next week for its namesake event – the Isle of Man TT.

   Fifteen-times TT winner and outright lap record holder John McGuinness and teammate Keith Amor are both bike fit and mentally prepared having completed hundreds of superbike laps a piece during the Bol d’Or 24-hour race in France in April, and more recently at the Albacete 8-hour in Spain.

   McGuinness’s 15-year knowledge of the circuit cannot be underestimated as he aims to defend his title as the fastest man around the Isle of Man TT lap. Relative newcomer Amor is hoping that his EWC experience, combined with the unrivalled knowledge of the Honda TT Legends team and the dynamic capability of the CBR1000RR Fireblade will help him bring home some solid results.

   Following a week of practice sessions from Monday 30 May, McGuinness and Amor will compete for the Honda TT Legends in the Dainese Superbike race on Monday 6 June and the Pokerstars Senior Race on Friday 10 June.

   Neil Tuxworth, team manager

   We’re sticking to basic principles for the Isle of Man TT – a proven formula for preparing the bikes as we always have, with performance and reliability in mind. The specification of the bike is virtually the same as we ran in 2010. Under the new Honda TT legends livery, we are of course aiming to win both superbike races and have both our riders on the podium.

   John McGuinness

   Endurance has been really good for me – it’s completely different and it has definitely improved my fitness – but I am so excited to be back at the TT. There’s a buzz about it that you just don’t get anywhere else. I think we have all the right ingredients this year – the team, the bike, the tyres – it’s all there. There are some very competitive riders though and you just never know what will happen – what will be will be but of course I want to win!

   Keith Amor

   Racing in the endurance championship with the Honda TT Legends means that I have spent more time on a superbike than ever before this year. It has not only provided great experience getting to grips with a superbike but it’s also increased my fitness level. I have the benefit of a brilliant team with years of TT experience behind them and a bike that is a legend in its own right so everything is in place. I’m not stressing about getting my first win, but hopefully we can get on that podium.

   For further information on Honda TT Legends visit the website www.hondattlegends.com.

2. Honda TT Legends focus on the positives

   Posted on 12:00am Monday 23rd May 2011

   The Honda TT Legends team is keeping its focus firmly on the positive elements of last night’s Albacete 8-hour race despite being forced to retire from the event in the final 50 minutes.

   The team had performed an almost faultless race, saving valuable time during pit stops due to an excellent fuelling strategy. By the six-hour stage, it was leading cumulative pit stop time challenge. Steve Plater and John McGuinness were both showing pace and the team was sitting strongly in its target position of fourth with under an hour to go.

   McGuinness was in the last seconds of his final stint when the Fireblade lost the back end on the in lap. He was uninjured but unfortunately it was impossible to bring the bike back to the pits to attempt a recovery and therefore the Honda TT Legends team was forced to retire.

   While the team is obviously disappointed with the result of the race, the progress made during the second round of the 2011 Endurance World Championship cannot be underestimated. The Honda TT Legends will now move on to more familiar territory – the Isle of Man TT from 30 May-10 June – before taking part in the Suzuka eight-hour race in Japan in July.

   Neil Tuxworth, race manager

   We have made an awful lot of progress with both the bikes and the team. The fuelling, the brake pads and the tyres are all working well, the team has bonded and the riders are doing a great job. We were only an hour from the end and we were within our target position of top four so we have many positive things to take away with us. Most importantly, we are thankful that John is ok.

   Steve Plater

   We’re disappointed but that’s endurance racing. We were setting a good pace and holding fourth position with one hour to go when John had an unfortunate crash. This year is a big learning curve for the team and we’ve learned a huge amount again this meeting. We are more competitive than we were at the Bol d’Or which we’re happy about and we aim to move forward at Suzuka.

   John McGuinness

   I am massively disappointed. We’ve had a good weekend as a team and things were looking good in the race. I was holding the fourth spot and only had one or two laps to go before handing the bike back to Steve, but in the end it didn’t go our way. All we can do now is use what we have learned for Suzuka - and of course look forward to the TT.
   

3. McBride to retire from Privateer Racing

   Posted on 12:00am Monday 21st Feb 2011

   Kettering’s pure road racer James McBride has decided to bow out of the sport he loves whilst on a high. In 2010 he won the inaugural Isle of Man TT Privateer’s Championship and amongst other superb achievements throughout last season he joined the elusive 130mph club at the Ulster Grand Prix.

   McBride was awarded a commemorative 130mph medal at the Adelaide Motorcycle Festival in Belfast last weekend by road race legend Raymond McCullough. With a plethora of 2010 results under his belt McBride felt it was time to step back and let this be the final accolade.

   McBride said: “I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while but I made my decision whilst travelling back home from the Belfast Bike Show. I have been truly really humbled and flattered by my Irish fans and sponsor support from the weekend but after receiving my award I felt it was time to retire my own efforts.”  

   This doesn’t mean James is hanging up his leathers he is still keen to take part in the racing he loves, and should a suitable team offer appear from a competitive team looking to employ a very capable racer  he would certainly consider it. However running himself and keeping the team at a high level is a big job and one he wants to back off from.

   He said: “To improve on last season’s riding I would almost certainly need a stronger budget and dedication from everyone involved, but life is getting busy right now in a number of ways and to retire my own personal efforts would free me up to cope. However it would allow room for improvement to my own riding performance with much less energy and focus spent on managing a team and more time to focus purely on my racing.  So be it if I don’t get to race much in 2011 but I am currently enjoying riding Enduro on my 450 Yamaha regularly and I will still structure a return to Macau in November.”

   To better his 2010 season would take a lot of time and investment in new machinery as well as plenty of organisation to ensure McBride can perform at the high level he is used to. So as things currently stand McBride will be stepping out of the lime light and spending time with partner Dorothy and daughter Molly.

   James would like to take this opportunity to thank all of his sponsor’s friends and family members whom have helped him achieve all the successes racing has to offer. These people have stood by from the early days in 1998 with the Club Championships which he won, to the lows of 2000 and 2008 where he was side lined through injury and now to the heights of 2010.

   McBride finished on this note: “Without my sponsors, some of whom are no longer with us, today wouldn’t be so poignant in terms of racing for 13 consecutive seasons. Racing became an interest back then but spare money just wasn’t available and it took three to four years before support came along. I’m very grateful to anyone who has helped with costs or support from day one to year 13. I salute you all....”

4. Yamaha Classic Race Team confirm Isle of Man TT Parade line up to celebrate Yamaha's 50th anniversary

   Posted on 12:00am Monday 31st Jan 2011

   Motorcycling legends and iconic machines confirmed for TT2011 appearance

   Some of the greatest names and most exotic machinery in Yamaha's history will be on the Isle of Man for this year's Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy courtesy of the Dutch based Yamaha Classic Racing Team.

   The international team, which includes multiple TT Race winners and World Champions, will be performing a parade lap as part of the legendary Japanese manufacturer's 50th anniversary, which is appropriately also the 100th anniversary that racing has taken place around the famous 37¾-mile Mountain Circuit.

   The line up includes multiple world champion Phil Read MBE, Yamaha's most successful rider, who also won 8 TT's and will ride the Yamaha RD05A 250cc that he rode to the '68 world championship. One of the greatest names in TT history, Phil will be making his first appearance on a Yamaha since the 1972 TT.

   Germany's Dieter Braun, world champion in 1970 and 1973, as well as a TT winner in 1970, will be riding the Yamaha YZ634 350cc that 7 time TT winner and fellow world champion Chas Mortimer raced on the Island in 1972, while Chas will parade on a Yamaha TZ750.

   Australian Kel Carruthers who won the 1970 Lightweight 250cc TT will be renewing his acquaintance with Rod Gould, runner up in that race but who went on to win that year's world championship from Carruthers. Gould will be on a 1972 YZ635 250cc machine that he and Barry Sheene both raced in the World Championship.

   Ulsterman Tommy Robb will be evoking memories of his popular 1973 125cc Ultra-Lightweight TT victory by appearing on the YZ623cc machine that he won that memorable race on.

   The line up also includes Finland's Pentti Korhonen who will be riding a 350 4 cylinder RR08A and Jos Schurgers who will be on the four cylinder RA31A 125.

   This eclectic group of riders is completed by American 750cc World Champion Steve Baker, who was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1989. The popular rider, known for his flamboyant riding style, was the first American World Champion in the 1977 750cc championship, and he also finished runner up to Barry Sheene in the 500cc championship in the same year as well as winning the Daytona 200. He is making a much-anticipated first appearance on the Island.

   The team will also be bringing some classic machines that will go on display at the grandstand from Wednesday 8thJune. It is hoped that machines that will be on show will include Phil Read's RD56 from 1964 and Bill Ivy's 1960 TT winning RA97.

   As well as the parade, which will take place on Friday 10th June, the team will also be appearing in a Yamaha Classic Racing Team Parade on Douglas Promenade on Wednesday 8th June as part of the night-time entertainment.

   A 'Dawn Chorus' event, with echoes of morning practices, is scheduled for early on Thursday 9thJune, which will include riders and mechanics in period costume in pit lane with all of the bikes on display. Fans will get the chance to meet their Yamaha heroes as part of the 'Day of Champions' also lined up for the TT Grandstand on the same day.

   Ferry Brouwer, Team Owner, Yamaha Classic Racing Team commented:

   "We are delighted that Yamaha's 50th anniversary is coinciding with the centenary celebrations of the Mountain Course and we are sure that the TT fans will enjoy the sights and sounds of these spectacular machines and the chance to see these legendary riders close up."

   Allan Bell, MHK, Minister, Department of Economic Development commented:

   "We are very much looking forward to sharing this special year in the history of the IOM TT Races with the Yamaha Classic Racing Team and celebrating their 50th anniversary year with us."

5. The official website of the Isle of Man TT and official live timing service attracted almost one million visits during the 2010 TT.

   Posted on 12:00am Thursday 15th Jul 2010

   Figures released by Duke Marketing, which operates iomtt.com on behalf of the Isle of Man Government, show visits to the site and its TT Live! service increased to 939,381, up 42% compared with the 2009 TT.

   TT Live!, which offered fans the chance to listen to live commentary on the internet while watching sector times and speeds as they happened, attracted 115,739 visits between May 29th and June 13th, an increase of 272% on the 2009 figures. The service, which was free during the 2010 TT, had an average of more than 30,000 users during the races, peaking at 32,399 during the PokerStars Superbike TT.

   While the number of visits makes positive reading, it is the numbers of unique users – or different people - which truly shows the rapidly growing popularity of the TT website. The figures for ‘unique users’ show how many individuals came to iomtt.com during the TT, and, in 2010, the number of unique users was 342,944 people, up by 34%.

   During the two weeks of the TT, the site had more than 5 million page impressions and data also shows that people were visiting more pages and spending longer compared with previous years on the site. During the festival, TT Live! was used by a total of 69,677 different people.

   The UK and Isle of Man accounted for the highest number of the visits, but the top 10 also included the US, Australia and Spain and more than half the visits from America were new visitors to the site.

   Duke Managing Director Peter Duke, whose company signed a new multi-year contract to continue running iomtt.com in 2010, said:

   “The figures for iomtt.com and TT Live! in 2010 are further evidence of the growing popularity of the Isle of Man TT. To attract almost 1 million visits to the site from nearly 350,000 different people exceeded our highest expectations, and we are very pleased that the website, and especially TT Live!, is contributing so much to the global awareness and popularity of the TT.”

   “We redesigned the website ahead of the 2010 TT to incorporate a new look, video content and other improved features. We also provided online commentary and live timings free of charge, and expanded our social networking presence with a dedicated Facebook page and Twitter account, both of which were regularly updated with news from the course and photos through each race day.”

   “This commitment from the team at Duke has brought extremely positive feedback from site visitors from all over the world. In just a handful of weeks, our Facebook group has built up more than 16,000 fans and the 34% increase in people using iomtt.com speaks for itself.”

   Mr Duke added:

   “The Isle of Man TT is a truly international event, and the use of iomtt.com and TT Live! clearly shows that. During the 2010 TT we had visitors from 179 countries and territories – including the Arctic!”
   “This is only the first year of our new contract, and the improvements made so far have brought excellent results. We will be building on the 2010 TT to deliver even more for the hundreds of thousands of TT fans, new and old, all over the world through iomtt.com.”

   Isle of Man Tourism Political Member Geoff Corkish said:

   “These figures are very encouraging and show that the programmes that we have put in place are increasing the global audience and commercial value of the TT. This will provide tangible benefits not only to the event itself but also the Isle of Man as a whole.”