Monday 12th June 2017

2017 Isle of Man TT round-up: PH2

The runners, riders and results from this year's Isle of Man epic

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Bad weather and a lack of practice time meant this year's TT was a somewhat more subdued affair than in 2016. That's not to say there wasn't some blistering racing, especially in the opening Superbike TT, but the lap records didn't tumble in quite the same way as last year's scorcher, and the second supersport race was pulled as the schedule fell into disarray. But there was still certainly plenty to talk about...

The headlines before the racing kicked off were all about Guy Martin's return to the TT, however the signing of headline-grabbing Guy spectacularly backfired on Honda as the new Fireblade's issues (which had already seen TT star John McGuinness hospitalized at the North West) continued. A lack of practice and a crash in the Superbike TT due to Guy finding a false neutral saw an embarrassing withdrawal of the new Fireblade from race action. And that TV interview where Guy spoke about the Blade and called it a Jonah certainly wouldn't have helped sales!

And then there was Ian Hutchinson, whose TT was all going to plan with two wins out of two on his Tyco BMW S1000RR before a crash in the Senior saw him airlifted to hospital with a broken femur. Terrible luck again and we all hope for a speedy recovery. Rival Michael Dunlop, who had his own bad luck in the Superbike TT as his unproven Suzuki GSX-R1000 broke down while he was leading the way, took the only Supersport race, but more impressively also the coveted Senior in the restarted race after Hutchy's crash- an incredible achievement when you consider the total lack of track time Dunlop and his Bennetts Suzuki squad had at the TT. And he did it while also setting a 132.903mph lap time - amazing!

You have to also say that Peter Hickman rode an incredible TT, getting on the podium in every race he entered and although he didn't stand on the top step, it must surely only be a matter of time until he does. Dean Harrison also had a good TT, finishing on the podium twice and looking very fast, and TT fans were delighted to see Manxman Dan Kneen take third in the Superstock TT and Michael Rutter win the Lightweight on the Paton. In the sidecars brothers Ben and Tom Birchall dominated while the TT Zero saw Bruce Anstey predictably take the win from Guy on the Mugen. Again, you have to ask yourself, why the hell didn't Mugen just run one bike after John's accident ruled him out and gift Guy his first TT win? Instead the firm stuck Bruce on it, a move that virtually guaranteed Guy getting beaten and once again the TT Zero gained next to no coverage when it could have got so much more if Guy had won.

Sadly, the TT does always bring bad news and this year three riders lost their lives on the course. Our thoughts are with all the families of those who were lost.

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Results:

Pokerstars Senior TT
1st: Michael Dunlop, Bennetts Suzuki
2nd: Peter Hickman, Smiths Racing BMW
3rd: Dean Harrison, Silicone Engineering Kawasaki
Fastest lap: 132.903mph Michael Dunlop, Bennetts Suzuki

RST Superbike TT
1st: Ian Hutchinson, Tyco BMW
2nd: Peter Hickman, Smiths Racing BMW
3rd: Dean Harrison, Silicone Engineering Kawasaki
Fastest lap: Michael Dunlop, Bennetts Suzuki, 131.135mph

RL360 Superstock TT
1st: Ian Hutchinson, Tyco BMW
2nd: Peter Hickman, Smiths Racing BMW
3rd: Dan Kneen, DTR Penz 13
Fastest lap: 131.639mph, Ian Hutchinson, Tyco BMW

Monster Energy Supersport TT
Race 1
1st: Michael Dunlop, MD Racing Yamaha
2nd: James Hillier, JG Speedfit Kawasaki
3rd: Peter Hickman, Trooper beer Triumph
Fastest lap: 126.848mph, Peter Hickman, Trooper Beer Triumph

Monster Energy Supersport TT
Race 2 - Cancelled

Bennetts Lightweight TT
1st: Michael Rutter, Paton
2nd: Martin Jessopp, Riders Kawasaki
3rd: Peter Hickman, KMR Kawasaki
Fastest lap: 120.362mph, Michael Rutter, Paton

SES TT Zero
1st: Bruce Anstey, Mugen
2nd: Guy Martin, Mugen
3rd: Daley Mathison, University of Nottingham
Fastest lap: Bruce Anstey, 117.710mph

Sure sidecar race 1:
1st: Ben Birchall/Tom Birchall, IEG Racing
2nd: John Holden/Lee Cain, Silicone Engineering
3rd: Dave Molyneux/Daniel Sayle, DMR

Sure sidecar race 2:
1st: Ben Birchall/Tom Birchall, IEG Racing
2nd: John Holden/Lee Cain, Silicone Engineering
3rd: Conrad Harrison/Andrew Winkle, Printing Roller Services

 

[grumpy52]

Though I'm not a motorbike racing fan as such ,because of Guy Martins tv stuff I have been following the road races and the TT coverage on the TV .
It gets you in the end ,those guys have big cojones .(and the girls).

[anonymous-user]

Must be the last form of pure motorsport.

Everything else has gone safety mad.

[ZX10R NIN]

It's a fantastic sport come & see a race there are more than a few to come & see you can fly in on the Saturday watch a days racing & then fly home but you'd be missing some of the fun, if you can spare the time come over to the Ulster GP it's 8 miles from the Airport.

Here are a few clips to give you an idea of the kind of thing you're missing & how close you can get to the action:

Armoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-1ns2lphIQ

NW200

https://youtu.be/_lLJdm3jcPE

Skerries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v769IhGCzeo

Get a cup of tea & watch this for 5 minutes:

https://youtu.be/z_oaaoapvww

This for me is the biggest save I've seen in years I think it would've been easier not to crash when speaking to James he was saying he was waiting to go down & it took him a couple of seconds to register he hadn't crashed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46KuqaehOHc

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Monday 12th June 21:06

[grumpy52]

I have family friends that stay with relatives on the Isle of Man for the races , front garden grandstand of the riders going past at insane speeds ,I have been shown some of the home videos and if you reach out across the garden wall you could touch the riders .

[grumpy52]

I have family friends that stay with relatives on the Isle of Man for the races , front garden grandstand of the riders going past at insane speeds ,I have been shown some of the home videos and if you reach out across the garden wall you could touch the riders .

[anonymous-user]

ZX10R NIN said:

It's a fantastic sport come & see a race there are more than a few to come & see you can fly in on the Saturday watch a days racing & then fly home but you'd be missing some of the fun, if you can spare the time come over to the Ulster GP it's 8 miles from the Airport.

Here are a few clips to give you an idea of the kind of thing you're missing & how close you can get to the action:

Armoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-1ns2lphIQ

NW200

https://youtu.be/_lLJdm3jcPE

Skerries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v769IhGCzeo

Get a cup of tea & watch this for 5 minutes:

https://youtu.be/z_oaaoapvww

This for me is the biggest save I've seen in years I think it would've been easier not to crash when speaking to James he was saying he was waiting to go down & it took him a couple of seconds to register he hadn't crashed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46KuqaehOHc

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Monday 12th June 21:06

Fantastic stuff.

Still love footage of Barregarrow at race speed.

As the guy states "JESUS"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEeeJFp8NEU

[Ed Straker]

ZX10R NIN said:

Get a cup of tea & watch this for 5 minutes:

https://youtu.be/z_oaaoapvww

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Monday 12th June 21:06

Holy crap - nearly spewed my brew.
I've ridden bikes for 30 years and done dozens of track days, but that is almost unwatchable when you start to ponder what might happen......

[Gypsum Fantastic]

ZX10R NIN said:

It's a fantastic sport come & see a race there are more than a few to come & see you can fly in on the Saturday watch a days racing & then fly home but you'd be missing some of the fun, if you can spare the time come over to the Ulster GP it's 8 miles from the Airport.

I couldn't recommend the Ulster GP enough. Incredible racing and a great atmosphere.