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Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix
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This year’s Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts will be brought to a thrilling climax on Bank Holiday Monday 28th August with the four-lap Motorsport Merchandise Superbike Classic TT Race closing the 2017 race programme. And with a top quality line-up, it is expected to be another record-breaking affair.
Michael Dunlop, the winner of this race in 2013, 2015 and 2016, leads the entry on the 1100cc Team Classic Suzuki and with a near 127mph lap twelve months ago; it would be a brave man to bet against the Northern Irishman who again has the number three plate.
That will see him set off ten seconds behind 2014 winner and, arguably, his biggest rival - Bruce Anstey. The Kiwi has lapped at over 126mph on the Padgett’s Motorcycles YZR500 Yamaha and although he was out of luck last year, further refinements to the two-stroke machine should see him on record-breaking pace.
Just like this year’s Isle of Man TT Races, David Johnson will set off at number one with the Australian lining up on the 1100cc Team York Suzuki with his team-mate and namesake Gary Johnson hoping to make up for a disappointing season at number seven.
A significant threat to Dunlop’s dominance comes at number 9 with Dean Harrison on the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki looking to make amends for last year when he finished second only to be removed from the results due to a technical infringement.
The race is packed with potential race winners and podium finishers - none more so than at numbers four, five and six where Michael Rutter, James Hillier and William Dunlop line up. Rutter finished second last year but switches from the Winfield Yamaha to the Red Fox Grinta Racing Ducati he rode in 2015 whilst Dunlop, third in 2016, remains with the Herheim Racing Kawasaki team.
Meanwhile, Hillier lines up on the Oxford Products Ducati made famous in 1992 and 1993 by Trevor Nation, Mark Farmer and Robert Dunlop.
Conor Cummins, fresh from a strong outing at the Ulster Grand Prix, reverts back to his usual number ten on the Padgetts Motorcycles OW01 Yamaha with Josh Brookes ten seconds behind the Manx racer on the Advanced Performance Coatings Norton, arguably one of the most intriguing combinations in the entry list.
Double Lightweight TT winner Ivan Lintin (12), who was running in the top six last year before retiring, returns with the Kraus Racing Kawasaki ten seconds ahead of Team York Suzuki’s Lee Johnston at 13 while two more potential podium finishers, at least, are also Kawasaki-mounted in the shape of the Mistral Racing pairing of Dan Kneen (14) and Jamie Coward (15), both of whom are enjoying excellent seasons.
Greenall Racing will field Horst Saiger (16) and Derek Sheils (18) on a pair of Kawasaki’s with Danny Webb (17) sandwiched in between them on the Team Classic Suzuki while Andrew Dudgeon (19) and Dan Hegarty (20) complete the top twenty on Kawasaki and Suzuki machinery respectively.
There are a whole host of privateers confirmed to race outside the top twenty who will be looking to impress including Phil Crowe, James Cowton, Michael Russell, Timothee Monot, John Barton, Dan Stewart, Dan Cooper and Michael Sweeney while David Madsen-Mygdal, Kiaran Hankin and Nick Jefferies are set to be the leading runners on the iconic RC30 Honda.
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Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available now starting from as little at £5 with race day tickets priced at £20. VIP experiences, tickets for the RST Classic TT Legends Dinner on Sunday 27th and the Classic TT Prize giving on Monday 28th August are all available to buy now at iomtt.com or our sales hotline on (00 44) (0) 1624 640011.
The first qualifying session for the Classic TT takes place this Saturday 19th August with live timing available via iomtt.com for all qualifying sessions and races.
Saturday’s schedule is as follows;
Roads Close at 1700 hrs until no later than 2100 hrs
1720 - 1745hrs: MGP & Classic TT Newcomers (speed controlled)
1730 - 1825hrs: MGP Senior /Junior /CTT 250/Superbike (No MGP/CTT Newcomers)
1830 - 1925hrs: Classic TT 350/500 / MGP Lightweight (No MGP/CTT Newcomers)
1930 - 2000hrs: All MGP Newcomers & CTT Newcomers (untimed)
Manx Radio will be live 7.30am on Friday 25th August with full coverage of the Festival of Motorcycling 2017 including Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix live commentary service. The station will also have practice reports each evening from Monday. You can listen online at manxradio.com, via the MR Smartphone app and via AM1368, 87.9FM in Douglas and 100.6FM in the north on Island.
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Motorcycling fans can now pre-order the definitive guide to the 2017 Isle of Man Festival of Motorcycling with the release of the 2017 Official Programme.
The full colour 92 page glossy publication previews the four main events that comprise the 2017 festival – the Classic TT presented by Bennetts, the Manx Grand Prix, the Manx International Classic Trial and the Vintage Motorcycle Club’s Festival of Jurby.
This year’s feature packed programme includes a nostalgic look back at Bob McIntyre’s 100mph Mountain Course milestone, sixty years after the Scotsman’s iconic lap and ahead of Michael Dunlop’s tribute parade lap on a replica Gilera.
There’s also a profile of one of the TT’s young guns – cover star Dean Harrison – who talks about the enjoyment he gets from riding Classic machines while at the other end of the age scale Nick Jefferies, who has been competing on the Mountain Course for 42 years, reveals what makes him keep coming back ahead of his Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix campaign.
The programme also profiles Maria Costello, now in her 21st year of competing around the Mountain Course since her 1996 Manx Grand Prix debut. The Northamptonshire based rider talks about her early days on a Honda Melody scooter through to last year’s memorable Classic TT campaign that saw her stand on the podium alongside John McGuinness in the Bennetts Senior Classic TT.
As well as the profiling the leading riders there’s also an in-depth look at two of the most remarkable machines in the TT’s history, the Britten V1000 and the iconic Honda Six, which will both feature at this year’s event.
As well as the glossy feature magazine this year’s programme pack includes detailed race guides for both the Classic TT and Manx Grand Prix featuring the complete entry list for every race, the complete list of ‘Vintage’ and ‘Retro’ parader’s as well as the full qualifying, race and parade schedule. The programme is an indispensible guide to some of the best entertainment on the island so that you don’t miss anything off the track either.
The programme is available to pre-order now via iomtt.com priced £10 with UK delivery scheduled from 12 August and international distribution to most destinations also possible. Customers can also collect their copy from the Duke Grandstand shop during the festival.
It is also available from many of the Isle of Man's leading newsagents.
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Team Winfield, one of the most successful Classic motorcycle racing teams on the planet, will once again take to the TT Mountain Course in 2017 having secured the considerable talents of Josh Brookes for the Classic TT Races presented by Bennetts.
The team will concentrate their efforts this year on the Bennetts Senior Classic TT Race with Australian ace Brookes campaigning the 500cc Paton that John McGuinness took to a record-breaking victory 12 months ago.
Roger Winfield’s outfit have been ever-present at the Classic TT since 2013, and the Classic Manx Grand Prix before that, and although McGuinness was out of luck in the early years of the Classic TT, he made up for that last year when he won the race and set a new lap record of 113.342mph as he came home over twenty seconds clear of Dean Harrison.
The 23-time Isle of Man TT had been due to ride Winfield’s rapid 500cc twin cylinder Paton again this year but having sustained leg injuries at the North West 200, the team were in need of a top quality replacement and they’ve got just that in 34-year old Brookes.
The former British Superbike Champion enjoyed a superb return to the 37.73-mile Mountain Course at this year’s TT as he lapped at close to 131mph on the SG6 Norton on his way to securing sixth place in the Pokerstars Senior Race. He took the same result in the Bennetts Lightweight Race, on Ryan Farquhar’s IEG/KMR Kawasaki. The Northern Irishman himself has a strong link to Team Winfield having taken numerous victories at the Manx Grand Prix on Winfield’s immaculately prepared machines.
Brookes will be getting his first taste of Classic TT action but there’s not doubt that the combination of his skill and talent and Winfield’s engineering expertise, is one to be feared They will come into this year’s event as one of the pre-race favourites. Indeed, the Sydney rider could well start favourite for his maiden Mountain Course race victory.
Team owner Roger Winfield commented:
“We were deeply saddened when John (McGuinness) was ruled out after his crash at the North West 200. Working with John has been a real highlight for our team over the past few years and after some terrible luck we showed what we are capable of last year when he won the race and moved the lap record on considerably. Hopefully he will continue to mend well and we look forward to be able to work with him again in the future.”
He continued:
“The task of replacing the most successful living TT rider has been a difficult one and we would have been forced to miss the event if we couldn’t find a rider of the very highest calibre to fill John’s boots so we were delighted when Josh Brookes agreed to join our team. While not as experienced on the Mountain Course as some of the riders in the field, there is no question about his skill level, and his results impressed everyone at this year’s TT after two years away. We will give Josh a great bike which hopefully he will get a lot of enjoyment out of riding, and we will see where we all end up after a week’s qualifying and four fast laps in the race itself.”
Josh Brookes added:
“It’s great to be riding the team Winfield Paton at the Classic TT. The team and the bike clearly have pedigree having won last year’s race and setting a new lap record. It’s going to be a steep learning curve for me with a type of bike I have no experience of riding, but I am looking forward to the challenge and will give it my all to give Roger and the team a good result.”
Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available now starting from as little at £5 with race day tickets priced at £20. VIP experiences, tickets for the Classic TT Party on Saturday 26thAugust the RST Classic TT Legends Dinner on Sunday 27th and the Classic TT Prize giving and Closing Party on Monday 28th August are all available to buy now at iomtt.com or our sales hotline on (00 44) (0) 1624 640011.
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With the release of the Official Review on DVD, Blu-ray and Download fans can now enjoy the spectacular racing from the 2017 edition of the Isle of Man TT once more, this time from the comfort of their favourite armchair.
The review brings together the best moments from North One TV’s spectacular coverage to produce a comprehensive story of a fortnight of dramatic action.
Also included alongside the race action are the full post-race press conferences, showing riders’ adrenaline-soaked reactions to victory in the raw.
2017 saw a whole host of memorable feats, including that sensational 117+mph lap from the Birchall brothers, the first Superbike win at the TT for Suzuki since 2008 and a brilliant run of five podium finishes by Peter Hickman – not bad for a rider who’d had none before TT 2017!
All of this, and much, much more, is featured in the four-hour review, which was shot in HD throughout. There is full coverage of each of the sidecar and solo races.
The review is available on DVD (in US-friendly NTSC and European compliant PAL), on Blu-ray and as an HD download. All formats can be ordered through the official Isle of Man TT Shop at iomtt.com. Worldwide standard delivery is free.
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2015 British Superbike Champion Josh Brookes has been confirmed to compete at the 2017 Classic TT presented by Bennetts.
Brookes, fresh from a highly successful campaign at the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races, will make his debut in the August event riding for Wiz Norton Racing.
The Australian ace will ride a 588cc Norton Rotary alongside the team’s regular rider Richard Wilson in the four-lap Motorsport Merchandise Superbike Classic TT Race.
Brookes has been testing the bike at the Donington Park, and the Norton produces approximately 120bhp and and is running an original specification from the era when the likes of Robert Dunlop, Trevor Nation and Ron Haslam all enjoyed success on the British-built machine.
Arguably the Norton’s finest moment, though, came in 1992 when Steve Hislop won the Senior TT after a race long duel with Carl Fogarty - the race voted the greatest ever by race fans in a 2011 survey to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Mountain Course. The Scot lapped at 123.50mph, the fastest ever lap by a rotary machine, and this is the lap time that Brookes and the Wiz Norton Racing team are aiming to beat.
Earlier this year, 34-year old Brookes made his return to the Mountain Course after a three-year gap and took four top twelve finishes, including sixth place on Ryan Farquhar’s IEG International/KMR Kawasaki in the Bennetts Lightweight Race.
His best performance came in the closing PokerStars Senior Race with another sixth placed finished sixth lapping at 130.883mph on the SG6 Norton to record not only his personal best lap but also the quickest ever by a Norton machine. This followed up the seventh place he had already recorded in the opening RST Superbike Race.
Wilson has competed on a similar Norton Rotary for Wiz Racing in the last three Superbike Classic TT Races finishing 21st in 2014 and 19th in 2016 despite a lengthy pitstop in the latter that dropped him down the order. His fastest lap came in last year’s race at 114.836mph.
Speaking about the news, Josh Brookes commented:
“I’ve always been interested in the Rotary Norton racers from the 1990’s and love the engineering ideas that went into this truly iconic motorcycle. I saw the Wiz Norton guys at an event and got talking to them about the project and one thing led to another and it wasn’t long before I was testing the bike. I’m really excited about making my Classic TT debut on such a fabulous motorcycle and getting some more time on the TT Mountain Course.”
Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available now starting from as little at £5 with race day tickets priced at £20. VIP experiences, tickets for the Classic TT Party on Saturday 26thAugust the RST Classic TT Legends Dinner on Sunday 27th and the Classic TT Prize giving and Closing Party on Monday 28th August are all available to buy now at iomtt.com or our sales hotline on (00 44) (0) 1624 640011.
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