Editor’s Note: Ted Clough finishes his two part story on his recent visit to the Isle of Man for the Classic TT. Click here if you missed Part 1 – otherwise read on to enjoy his perspective on the racing!
So, what about the races? How is it to watch? Where do you watch from? How do you get there?
When you go to a race at a normal “track”, there are usually grandstands at major viewing points around the course. Generally, you can also walk around and sometimes over the track to get to other locations for some variety. For major races, like MotoGP, there are usually Jumbotron screens around the track so that you can see what is going on out of your current field of view. At Indy, or Daytona you can go under the track to get to infield, or to vendor areas for some variety. A great track for viewing is Barber, in Alabama, There are no grandstands as such, but the track is laid out using the local topography so that there are natural hills for viewing all around the track, and they run shuttles continuously so you can move around. That all works great for a track contained with a few square miles, as most are. Not so much for the Isle of Man.
The start/finish is in Douglas, on the East side of the Island. From there it runs clockwise across the island, up north to Ramsey, then up and over Snaefell Mountain and back to Douglas. All public roads, in and out of towns. Complete with all the expected bumps, slippery lane markings, crosswalks, manhole covers, stone walls, curbs, etc. You get the picture. Not exactly MotoGP or Formula 1 specs.
The IoM has a lot of good information for viewing points on their website. There are also blogs and travel sites people have put together with more specific info.
The second link has particularly good information. There are some points around the course that have limited grandstand seats, but in general, it is more like: get there early, pick your spot along the hedge, wall, fence, field, etc. and watch. An important point is that the race is run against the clock, with riders starting out at 10-second intervals in order based on qualifying. At major viewing points along the course there are also loudspeakers, which broadcast Manx race radio, which is a running commentary on what is happening around the course. It is really the only way to know what is going on, as the racers are running against the clock. Someone who started 10th may be running faster times than the guy who started 1st, or had a quicker pit stop. That’s another variable, by the way. For the major races, they run four laps, so a pit stop for fuel and possibly tires is necessary, and throws another wrench in the works for the race teams…
As you start researching, you will notice some area names keep popping up in descriptions and videos of the race. I’ll let one of the current experts, John McGuiness, tell you some of them.
So, how do you get around? I’ll confess right now that I screwed up. You need transportation. You CAN get around the island by bus, train, taxi, etc. to major points, but you will spend a lot of time doing it, and there are places along the course that you can’t really get to without your own transport. Plus, the bus schedules are modified during the times the course is open (certain roads closed) so it may take even longer. The absolute best way to get around would be by bike. For that, you need to either rent locally or maybe in the UK, and ferry over. As discussed earlier, plan WAY ahead if this is your option. Car rentals are available on the island, but plan early for that also.
If you are going to be there for a full two weeks, you could go to a different location each race day, and that might work with public transport, but we only had 3 race days, so had to get creative. As it was, we only watched from the start/finish area, Bray Hill, Ramsey, and on the Mountain, by the Bungalow.
Here’s my take on each:
Start/Finish: There is a big grandstand here and they sell daily tickets. It oversees the pit/staging area also, so good for watching the frantic pit stops. Directly behind the stands is the paddock and vendor area, so lots of food options and you can wander all through the paddock and look at all the bikes and displays. No pit pass or anything special required. Go right up to your favorite rider’s tent and check out their bike! Now this was during the slightly less frantic Classics week, but I’ve been told it’s similar during the TT. On either side of the grandstands, along Glencutchery Road, you can literally lean on the wall and watch them go by at full tilt. Lots of special events going on here, too. During this week they also had a classic car show, and the IoM Classic Cycle Club had a show and parade lap with some very cool, very rare bikes.
In this next picture, where the cars are is the race lane. This was a non-race day and these were just spectator bikes. The pit exit is where all the bikes are parked.
Bray Hill: This is just after the start/finish straight. About a 10-15 minute walk to the bottom of the hill. There is a pretty good size intersection at the bottom of Bray Hill, so room for a fair number of spectators. They come down the hill again at full tilt, and right where it bottoms out it jogs a bit, so they are never really straight up. They hit the bottom so hard that about 1 in 4 bikes will actually bottom out. You can hear their fairings scrape. Yikes! A friend told me that back in the 50’s someone hit his head so hard he knocked himself out and was killed. To see what I mean, go back to some of those onboard camera videos and watch how violently the riders are thrown about…
After Bray Hill they head off over Ago’s leap: pretty much a blind crest – you could hear the revs spin up as they crested it…
Ramsey: Ramsey is one of the larger towns on the Island. It is easily accessible by train and bus, even during races. We used both. The riders come into Ramsey at a pretty good pace, slow through Parliament Square, then blast down the main street and exit up the hill towards the very slow Ramsey Hairpin. There are lots of spots in Ramsey to watch, and there is a pedestrian bridge so you can get across the course and get some variety of views. I had one surreal moment here, watching the Classics practice. We were across the street from a pretty little park, full of kids playing on the swings and jungle gyms. They were totally oblivious to the bikes going by just feet away on the other side of a wrought iron fence. Just another day for them….
Coming through Ramsey: These were some mid-size Classics – Nortons, MV Agustas, Hondas, Yamaha 2-strokes – quite the variety.
Heading up the hill out of Ramsey:
After Ramsey they wind their way out of town and start to climb Snaefell Mountain. If you go up before they close the road, you can camp out alongside the course. You can also drive up to the Bungalow area from the West side of the island, or come up on the train from Laxey on the East.
It crosses the course at the Bungalow, and continues to the top, but during races it stops at the crossing. You can see it here:
The Bungalow is near the end of the Mountain section. It is very open, with big sweeping corners. Wind and weather can be a big factor here. The day we watched the Senior race the clouds threatened to drop down enough to cover the course, but never really made it. This picture was about as bad as it got….
As you can see, there are all sorts of places to watch here. You can get good views of them coming as well as going. Also another pedestrian bridge here, so you can move about. You can get up close and personal, too…
Bad timing on this shot, but here is John McGuiness on the Paton 500 in the process of winning the race: Notice he is about to cross the tracks NOT straight and level. What did they teach you in Motorcycle Safety School?
We were very lucky, and they had great weather for the race days while we were there. As I said, it can be a huge factor, as sometimes it might be clear in Douglas, and raining on the mountain, or vice versa. Big temperature changes are normal, also, and if you watch those videos, you will see them going in and out of sun and shadow. Sometimes it is still damp in the shade, too. No big deal on your favorite country road back home, but a little different at 180 mph!
We strolled up the pits at the end of the Superbike Race on Monday, to watch them come back in. Fun to watch the winners roll in:
Michael Dunlop, James Hillier, and Dean Harrison were 1,2,3. Dunlop looked exhausted – wonder why? The results were modified after the race, as the official website now lists Michael Dunlop. Michael Rutter, and William Dunlop 1,2,3. The Kawasakis were evidently disqualified after post-race scrutineering.
There was a ton of other events going on around the Island while we were there, and we only made 4 days of the 2-week Festival. There were classic car shows, the huge Festival of Jerby, which is worth a whole writeup in itself, as well as lots more competition in other classes – lightweights, sidecars, etc. There are also lots of Trials events. The Trials events were very interesting in that they run them in several different locations around the island. They are what is called a “No Stop” trial, in that you run each section during a prescribed window, ride to the next one, run it, and so on, all day. I wanted to watch some, as they actually do Sidecar Trials, which I did not know even existed, but was unable to figure out their map references and eventually gave up. Definitely need a vehicle to follow any of the trials.
An example of Sidecar Trials:
So, that’s my brief introduction to the Isle of Man. I know there are a lot of readers who can chime in with much more, better, or detailed information about places to stay, and good spots to watch, although they may not want to give away their “secret” spots….
If you like all things motorcycle, and especially racing, it is one of those trips you really ought to do, if only to experience the way the locals feel about motorcycling. I was watching an interview during the TT. After a rider (actually I believe it was a sidecar monkey) had been killed, the interviewer was pressing some official spokesperson from the Isle, in a very Politically Correct manner, whether this would mean they would come to their senses and ban road racing on the Island? The official didn’t hesitate or mince words, just replied “Of course not. This is our heritage and we are proud of it. The riders know the risks, and we do our best to mitigate them. There is no question that we will continue them.” Boom, Next question…
And one last example:
We were sitting on a bench at a next to an elderly gentleman waiting for a bus. He looked around at all the bikes (they were everywhere), sighed and said – “Aye, we love to see the bikes” and proceeded to tell us about the bikes he had “Back in the day”…
I hope to get back – with a bike next time.