B117: Manx Mania

14/11/2023

IOM TT 2009

Douglas, Isle of Man - June 2009 (Photo: Charlie Craig)

As a child, I loved sending away for brochures and catalogues; my favourites being holiday brochures. Before the internet was a thing, you had to fill in and cut out a request coupon from the newspaper, send it by post and wait a week or two for the brochure/ catalogue to arrive with the postman. That’s how I first saw pictures of the Isle of Man, that beautiful self-governed British protectorate in the Irish Sea hallway between Ireland and the UK. I learned about the picturesque towns of Douglas (the main town), Peel and Port Erin … the Great Laxey Wheel and Castle

Rushen. To me, it all sounded exotic and mystical especially as you had to take a boat to get there…. or a plane if you could afford it. I even knew some people who had gone there on honeymoon…so it sounded a very romantic place.

Isle of Man Location in the Irish Sea

Fast forward twenty years to the mid-nineties when I found myself going back and forth to the Isle of Man on regular business trips when I worked for Sunrock. We always stayed in The Empress Hotel on the Douglas promenade. Brisk walks along the prom after a day in the office in the driving rain dispelled some of the romance! On one particular trip though, when we had some downtime, my boss Ohba-san, suggested we take a taxi along the route of the Isle of Man TT Races. For those not familiar, the TT Course is a street and public rural road circuit used for motorcycle racing.

The Empress Hotel, Douglas Promenade where I stayed several times in the mid-90's

The start-line for the TT Course is located on Glencrutchery Road in the town of Douglas where we were actually based. The clockwise course has a lap of 37.730 mi (60.721 km), from the start line at the TT Grandstand on Glencrutchery Road. After negotiating urban streets, the racing circuit turns right to leave Douglas at Quarter Bridge, then proceeds along the Douglas to Peel road through the villages of Braddan, Union Mills, Glen Vine, Crosby, and Greeba.

The course then turns right at Ballacraine on to the Castletown to Ramsey road, firstly through countryside glens followed by agricultural land interspersed by the villages of Kirk Michael, Ballaugh and Sulby, finally intersecting with the Snaefell mountain road after negotiating urban streets in the town of Ramsey. The A18 then takes the course back to Douglas through the highest point, situated Height near the 31st Milestone at a height of 1,385 ft (422 m) above sea level. The descent starts through countryside before entering the residential outskirts of Douglas back to the finish line. We took several stops along the way and the scenery was tranquil and stunning. I vowed there and then that I would return some day to see the actual TT races from the Grandstand. And I fell back in love with the Isle of Man that day!

Another decade or so passed before I eventually went back for the TT races. On Friday 5th June 2009, Charlie and I took the 45-minute 4pm Aer Arann flight RE377 from Dublin to the Isle of Man (IOM). It was a teeny tiny plane with one flight attendant. No sooner were we up when we were down. We had found a room in a bungalow for two nights with the IOM’s Homestay service and our female hostess gave us a run-down of what we needed to know. We lost no time in walking in to the centre of Douglas. I’d never seen so many bikers, bikes and leather gear in all of my life. We really enjoyed the banter and the buzz. The noise of revving bikes was deafening, the smell of petrol fumes intoxicating! Of course, Charlie was in his element seeing all of the bikes. Most bikers had arrived on the ferries with their own bikes.

Bikers - Isle of Man

We got to see some of the practice sessions that evening. I was fascinated by the side-car races in particular with the pillion passengers balancing across the top going around the bends. I couldn’t make my mind up if they were brave or daft. I still can’t! 😂

Above: Side Car Riders - Douglas, IOM - 5 June 2009 (Photo: Charlie Craig)

Above: Practice runs - Douglas, IOM - 5 June 2009 (Photos: Charlie Craig)

The following day we woke up excited to get to the action. Saturday June 6th 2009 was supposed to be the prestigious TT Superbike Race; to be flagged away by the former world motorcycling champion Giacomo Agostini and also the Sure Mobile Sidecar Race 1. As a treat, we had booked a VIP Club Hospitality package which had just been launched that year……and we were a bit worried that we might be away from all the real action. As it happened, the rain was torrential that day and the TT was suspended for 48 hours until the Monday…the day AFTER we were due to fly home!! The hospitality package in retrospect was a complete blessing!

The package granted access to the tented TT VIP Club located track-side in Noble’s Park with accommodation for more than 200 guests. As the rain poured down outside (that Saturday June 6 2009), we had all-day access to the Hospitality Suite, which included a complimentary bar open, breakfast served until 10am and gourmet hot and cold buffet lunch prepared by first-class chefs.

Inside the Hospitality Tent - Douglas, IOM

We had reserved TT Grandstand seating and a bird’s-eye view from the Hospitality Suite roof-top if there had been TT racing! Instead, we had access to the TT Paddock and exclusive rider appearances all day in the tent. We got to meet all of the legends of the IOM TT including John McGuinness, Guy Martin and Ian Hutchinson! Charlie was like a kid in a candy shop!

Charlie with John McGuinness - 23-time TT Winner - 6 Jun 2009

Me with Ian Hutchinson - 16-time TT Winner - 6 Jun 2009

We also got a special souvenir TT gift pack which included official merchandise (I still have the shirt), the official TT programme, a race guide and an ear-piece radio tuned to Manx Radio TT, the official TT radio station.

My Official TT 2009 Shirt (which I have kept)

While I was chatting to Guy Martin and getting his autograph in the tent that day, he was being interviewed by the famous British TV presenter, John Sergeant, for a three part TV series called “John Sergeant on the Tourist Trail” – a travelogue seeing Britain through the eyes of tourists. John interviewed Guy about the dedicated German fans who travel each year to see the IOM TT. It was shown on ITV1 on Tuesday 10th November 2009 ….and there I was beside Guy!!

john sergeant, guy martin & me - 6Jun2009

John Sergeant, Guy Martin & Me - IOM TT - 6 Jun 2009 (Photo: Charlie Craig)

Me chuffed to bits with Guy Martin's Autograph - IOM TT - 6 June 2009

John Sergeant interviews Guy Martin on "John Sergeant on the Tourist Trail"

When the TT 2009 bike racing recommenced on the following days, the John McGuinness success story continued with victory in the Superbike Race and a new outright lap record of 131.578mph in the Senior, but a broken chain denied him glory in the latter. Guy Martin came third. The Blue Riband event of TT Race week was won by Steve Plater claiming victory in the Senior TT and also winning the prestigious Joey Dunlop TT Championship. There were two race wins in a day for Ian Hutchinson with the Supersport Race 1 and the Superstock TT race. Michael Dunlop was a popular first-time winner of the Supersport Race 2. The Sidecar Race 'A' was won by local Isle of Man crew of Dave Molyneux/Dan Sayle. The subsequent Sidecar Race 'B' was abandoned after a serious crash to Nick Crowe/Mark Cox near Ballaugh Bridge on lap 1.

Here are some of the highlights from the TT 2009 that week from YouTube:

We were so sad to miss the racing because of the rain. I was also sad to miss the famous Moto GP rider, Valentino Rossi, who rode a lap of the route on the following Tuesday 9 June 2009. Vale has huge respect for the TT riders but believes it too dangerous for himself:

One of the things that amazed me that day was both the number of female bikers and also the number of older bikers. We met some great people that day. I particularly remember a lone Japanese girl who had come all the way from Japan to experience the TT. Also, an Australian widow who used to come there with her late biker husband every year and was now coming along to honour his memory.

Our time there was all too short …. and because of the weather we saw very little racing. I would hope someday to return with Charlie. I know in the interim there continues to be discussion about the dangers of the TT. Ultimately, I suppose, the TT can be seen as the basic human right to be free to choose what you do with your own body. Nobody racing the TT seems to have a death wish to my knowledge. The risks have always been laid bare. Yet riders keep coming back, and new ones still want to test themselves at the event. And if you ban the TT, where do you stop? More than 300 people have been recorded as having died climbing Everest. Yet that still happens, and in many ways the TT and Everest are similar challenges. People do it because they want to see if they can. Pushing the limits of what we believe is possible is a human trait.

While riders have made money out of racing the TT, nobody goes there to get rich. Winning the blue riband Senior TT race, if you manage to lead all laps, will net you around £18,000. When you consider Marc Marquez’s Honda MotoGP contract is thought to have been worth around €25m per year, a Senior TT win is minuscule by comparison. The racers are consenting adults taking on a challenge they know can have dire consequences, but still love racing at the TT regardless. My wish is that they all come home safe !! ❤️

Bucket List Items Ticked Off in the above Blog 117
Number 28 - Entertainment/Sporting Event