[Ben]

Anyone else watch some of this? I watched the highlights at my friends house and man those guys are nuts! Those roads are a little dodgey and yet they are still going 100mph+ on them. A lot of fun to watch, I don’t think i will be participaitng anytime soon though haha!

Ben

[megaspaz]

oh yeh… those guys are nutzo. awesome riders, but nutzo.

[eon]

I’ve watched a lot of it. They hit top speeds of 160+ and average 130mph around the course. Totally mental.

[eon]

I’m not really up on all the ins and outs of motorcycling racing either but here is my understanding of it. That course was part of the professional world championship circuit up till sometime in the 1970s I think, and was regarded as one of the most prestigious ones to win on. It was then dropped due to safety considerations (for obvious reasons they were not able to comply with tighter safety regulations).

Watching this years race it struck me the competitors were ‘professional amateurs’ if that makes sense. These were not your media friendly hot shots on the MotoGP circuit. But they were dedicated individuals with serious sponsorship behind them. For some of them this one race is their entire season and dedicate everything to being successful there. There were also plenty of one-man-band type outfits but they were outclassed by the bigger ‘teams’. Will stick my neck out here and say it might be a bit like NASCAR (not really sure how NASCAR works so I could be way off here but it always struck me as being professional amateurs). There are also different classes, one of which is the supersport bikes you could buy in your local dealer. In the top notch class the bikes are customized with the all the best racing equipment and cost over $250,000 each (I think).

The professional racers do not compete on this course (as far as I know). They really have nothing to gain and everything to lose. It would take them forever to learn all 37 miles to be able to compete with the guys who race here all the time. Weigh up being made to look stupid by a slower rider against risking a career ending injury and there is not much incentive there. Valentino Rossi was on hand to present the trophy to this years winner but he did not venture out on the track as far as I know.

[Munch]

I would doubt that many “professionals” would do it. They have enough races to worry about and one thats not in a trophy/cup/championship type scheme is not one they would risk losing it all in. Think NFL quarter back getting injured in a flag football game type thing.

[eternal05]

Not only do the riders not have anything to gain and everything to lose as eon said, but their sponsors wouldn’t have it. Even if Valentino, Hayden, Edwards, Pedrosa, etc. WANTED to compete, they’d get forced out by their management and sponsorship. This short blurb kind of alludes to that:

http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/valentino-rossi-exhibition-lap-2009-isle-man-tt/

Notice: not riding his GP YZF-M1, but rather a production YZF-R1 (saves $1+ million in potential damages), and riding with old geezer race hero of old behind a pace car.

[CBBaron]

Watched most of the coverage. Those guys are crazy and very fast. Many of the top guys had been doing this for years and competed in all the 2-wheel classes. Side car had their own races.
It appeared that the top racers were Pro TT racers, where the TT was their primary or only major race. A number of other competitors were various amateurs. It seemed to be really competitive you had to dedicate yourself to learning the 37 mile course and finding the fastest lines through each corner. Not something a person can do in a week.
It did make for some great video.

Craig

[WeaponZero]

There’s an air of mysticism about the Isle of Man TT that isn’t there in any other motorcycle race, for me anyway. It’s like it’s the “no man’s land” of motorcycle racing, their equivalent to the Cannonball Run of old. The best analogy I can think of is like living in the city vs. living in the old west. Riding it must be like an adventure.

[samgoody]

The “mysticism” is more a result of press coverage than anything else IMHO. There are other such races around – such as the Ulster GP in Northern Ireland, and Oliver’s Mount in England – that are raced on public roads, but don’t seem to get much press. The Isle of Man TT isn’t even the most dangerous road racing circuit; I believe the Macau GP is even more dangerous. It’s crazy enough to go that fast on country lanes, but it’s a whole different level of crazy when the track is made up of city streets, and you have concrete walls and barriers to greet you in a get off!

[hahcoh]

ive been watching it too on discovery HDTV.  very entertaining to watch.  i have read various things about the danger of the race.  i did read that there have been more deaths on that race over the years than any other motorcycle race.  of course … it has been going on for years.  i think isle of man makes a good bit of tourist money on the race too

[Author]

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