There are few things that are as exhilarating or exciting as the Isle of Man TT races. Every year the bravest and most talented road racers on the planet line up to test themselves on the toughest track in the world. It’s a testament to the racing spirit that the event still happens in these glorious two weeks in the middle of the year. It’s more of a testament to the personal spirit of those who plunge down Bray Hill that millions of people around the world look to these races so passionately, too. Without the Manx people of this small island in the middle of Irish Sea, the TT couldn’t exist. Without the factories and teams who pour money, time and huge amounts of effort into building strong, fast and reliable high speed weapons the TT couldn’t get started. Without the riders, drivers and their passengers who so unnervingly square up to the greatest racing challenge anywhere, the TT wouldn’t happen. And without the Marshals and support staff who give their time for free, tirelessly working as hard as they can to make sure the racers and spectators are safe, not one TT racer or punter would get to enjjoyy what theyy love. This year, all the above have a prime part to play so that huge numbers of us can enjoy the greatest racing spectacle on Earth – we thank them for what they do. And what a promise of greatness to come we have this year. It matters not which rider you may be a particular fan of because in 2017 we’ve got a plethora of top talent all aiming to push the speeds up and the times down. Michael Dunlop and Ian Hutchinson will go toe-to-toe again, John McGuinness may have just played the cleverest pre-race game of all by slotting in between those two in the starting order and as for the others on the ‘who may win’ table – Cam Donald, David Johnson, Connor Cummins, Bruce Anstey, Peter Hickman, Guy Martin etc. – the talent and hard-edged nature of the fast people promises something even better than we saw last year during those incredible tussles on track.
The Mountain is a great leveller. You can’t ‘just’ be fast here. You can’t ‘just’ be clever. You can’t ‘just’ have nerves of steel. You need to have every single one of those elements turned up to 11 in your personal armoury (and plenty more) before you even swing a leg across a bike. And if you have done the homework, learnt your craft and found the ability to focus on that narrow strip of grey winding its way around Snaefell at speeds that boggle brains – then you stand a chance to be a great. Us fans? We’re so, so lucky to be here, right now in the time where we’ve already got several established great racers battling it out on two and three wheels with lots more joining them in 2017. I sincerely hope that you all have a brilliant Isle of Man TT year this year. Let’s all take the time to appreciate the history that we’re watching as it happens in front of us. The quick, the brave and those who appreciate them. That’s what makes the TT what it is and long may it continue. See you on The Mountain.
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YOUR ISLAND RACER | EDITION 2017
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Stephen Davison is arguably the best road racing photographer on the planet. He’s also the man responsible for the majority of images in Island Racer – and some words, too. Here’s five of the greatest shots from recent TT days that shows you what really happens on The Island.
018 HUTCHINSON: HUNGRY FOR MORE
He’s been to hell and back but last year’s Isle of Man TT races proved that, above all else, Ian Hutchinson is a flat-out racer who never gives up. The modern events are boiling up into a battle royale between him and arch-rival Michael Dunlop and Hutchy has his eye set on one particular prize this year.
024 WHO’S WHO: THOSE WHO RACE, IN SPEED ORDER
All the information you need about every person who is swinging a leg over a bike or climbing into an outfit to go out and compete on The Island this year.
054 MICHAEL DUNLOP: LOCKED ON
There’s few that would not have Michael Dunlop in their top-ten-ofall-time TT racers. The bloke is as hard as nails, goes like a scalded cat right from the off and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. He’s the complete package for getting fast bikes over The Mountain and could well go on to be the best that any of us have ever seen.
060 IT HAPPENED THERE:TT 2016
A timely look back at the high speed battles that happened 12 months ago on this amazing rock in the middle of the Irish sea. Last year saw plenty of outstanding performances but the headlines were dominated by a couple of riders in particular...
078 SHARPENING THE BLADE
For a quarter of a century Honda’s Fireblade has played a huge part in pushing the TT to ever faster and better things. A motorcycle that was built to redefine what we could expect from a quick machine on two wheels has become an icon in its own right around The Mountain.
086 50YEARS AND ONE BLOODY SECOND!
The story of a (nearly) life long obsession with the TT – from spectating to helping out to finding a racebike and then... racing. It’s a personal story the nearly ended in the perfect fairytale ending. Nearly.
100 I’M ATT VIRGIN
The tale of a man in his late 30s who decided that enough was enough and it was time to visit The Island and watch the fastest road racers on the planet doing their stuff live. If you’ve been to the TT, if you’re going to the TT or if you’re thinking about the TT then you’ll relate to this.
104 TT 2017: RACE SCHEDULE AND SOLO START NUMBERS All you need to know to get to where you’re going on The Island in 2017 in time to watch the action as the heroes hurtle past.
106 BOB MAC:THETON
Six decades ago the first 100mph+ lap of the Isle of Man TT was managed. It was in The Senior and the mighty McIntyre (Bob) was the man who made it. This is the story of what happened on that 1957 Jubilee TT, the last one to allow full-on dustbin fairings to compete over The Mountain.
112THE KNOWLEDGE: TT 2017’S ENCYCLOPAEDIA
Your TT racing font with every fact from every result. There’s also the Ready Reckoner and current lap and race records so that you can keep track of how the racers this year are doing in comparison with the landmark times and speeds.
130 HUGE DOUBLESIDEDTT POSTER
The two biggest names in the run up to TT 2017 are caught in all their road-attack glory.
EDITOR:TONY CARTER DESIGNER: HOLLY FURNESS SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS: JOHN WATTERSON, MALC WHEELER, STEPHEN DAVISON/PACEMAKER PRESS, LARRY CARTER & PHILIP WAIN.
104 WHAT’S ON
Your one-stop shop for all the times and dates that are essential for a great time at TT2016. We’ve got all the info here.
PRODUCTION EDITOR: PAULINE HAWKINS GROUP KEY ACCOUNTS MANAGER: STEFF WOODHOUSE 01507 529452 | 07786 334330 SWOODHOUSE@MORTONS.CO.UK PUBLISHER: MALC WHEELER COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR: NIGEL HOLE PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: DAN SAVAGE TT’17 ISLAND RACER
ISSN 1743 - 5838 ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT MORTONS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED, 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PUBLISHED BY MORTONS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED, MEDIA CENTRE, MORTON WAY, HORNCASTLE, LINCOLNSHIRE LN9 6JR. TELEPHONE 01507 529529. PRINTED BY WILLIAM GIBBONS & SONS OF WOLVERHAMPTON. DISTRIBUTED BY COMAG.
FOR MORE COPIES OF ISLAND RACER OR FOR INFORMATION CALL 01507 529529 OR VISIT WWW.ISLANDRACER.CO.UK
Post race press conferences aren’t always the most interesting events. You can easily listen to the post-mortem on Radio TT so it can be tempting to give it a miss in all the hurly-burly of the final day’s action. What a mistake that would have been in 2016! The words spoken didn’t make a lot of sense but the expressions on the faces of Ian Hutchinson and Michael Dunlop were pictures that told 1000 words as their fantastic week of rivalry on track exploded into bitter acrimony between the victor and the vanquished. STEPHEN DAVISON STEPHEN DAVISON
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John McGuinness has won 23 TT races and garnered a career’s worth of Mountain course knowledge along the way. I’ve heard him talk through a lap to young riders making their debut, telling them about manhole covers to avoid and cambers that can catch out the unwary. Stuff that only someone who knew that 37¾ miles of tarmac like the back of his hand could know.
But even the maestro can be caught out at times. The glorious weather at last year’s TT meant very low sun on the run up the mountain during evening practice. As the Morecambe Missile emerged from the shadows of the Waterworks into Tower Bends he was blinded by the light and strayed a little too close to the hedge. It was a moment this young fellow on the bank will remember forever as the leaves fluttered round his ears, set afloat by the great man’s shoulder.
STEPHEN DAVISON STEPHEN DAVISON
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Clive Padgett, the boss of Padgett’s Motorcycles, has masterminded a gaggle of TT wins, including the only five timer by Ian Hutchinson in 2010. Masterminded from a little garage in Onchan, the master tactician pulled off one of the most brilliant coups in TT history by running the exotic RCV213 Honda for Bruce Anstey in last year’s races. No one, including Honda, saw it coming but the TT fans loved it. STEPHEN DAVISON STEPHEN DAVISON
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