Real world rides, real world riders

Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest TT rider of all time?

And during our interviews I’ve come to realise that they are all quite incredible human beings. Of course, being able to lap the Island at speeds of around 131mph average is a pretty good indication of their skillset anyway, but away from the bikes they remain something else.

Some, like Gary Johnson and Guy Martin, are full of life, ebullient people who will simply seize any chance to live life to the full.

Others, like 15-times TT winner John McGuinness and Steve Plater are thinkers. They analyse every aspect of what they do and set about improving on their performance with a considered approach and the brains of Honda behind them.

But no matter what they’re like as people, as personalities, when they get out on that 37.73 mile long course it all makes sense. They may all have something that is clearly different about them (let’s call it the road racing X Factor) but it’s there.

The 220bhp machines they race in the big bike classes are angry enough to literally tear great chunks of skin out of the riders' hands as they hang on to the back of the factory-madness mechanical bulls. Topping 200mph on public roads isn’t for the faint hearted or those who blink first, but when you see it then it all pulls a sharp focus.

In this month’s issue of MSL you’ll find a feature looking at McGuinness and the factory HM Plant Honda Fireblade that he is contesting on the Island as you’re holding this copy of the magazine in your hands.

John is now the second most successful TT rider of all time. His 15th win last year took him above Mike Hailwood’s 14 victories on the Island. The man who stands above all of them though is the late Joey Dunlop with 26 wins. Can McGuinness get near that? Can he go past that?

Yes. He could and I think he will.

John is coming under a lot of pressure from the likes of Plater, Martin, Australian Cameron Donald, Kiwi Bruce Anstey and the rest but it seems like every time they get up close to him John can just wind the wick up that little bit more and raise the bar further.

Take last year for example. Cam Donald was flying during Practice Week and became the first man ever to lap the course at more than 131mph (and don’t forget that during a lap of the Island the riders are forced to come to a virtual standstill twice...), which was incredible.

Because that outstanding lap was set in practice it didn’t count as a new lap record, but it didn’t matter – the message was sent very loudly to all concerned, if John or anyone else wanted to win they would have to up the ante further.

Cam crashed at Keppel Gate and ruled himself out action for Race Week but John wasn’t about to let it go. He went on and in a race put in a 131.578mph lap. Astonishing. McGuinness was again King of the Mountain.

And it’s because of that lap, because of how he dug so deep, that I and many other TT watchers and workers think that John McG could very well go on to be the best there’s ever been at the course that is widely regarded as the toughest in the world.

Like watching Valentino Rossi in MotoGP we are in the glorious period of motorcycle racing where we’re seeing those who might become the best the world has ever seen (I think Rossi will only become that if he gets on a Ducati to see out his two-wheeled career, but that’s a conversation for another time...) so I implore you, if you haven’t done it already then book now to get to next year’s Isle of Man races to watch McGuinness and the rest really going for it.

In a world where Health and Safety people only let kids play conkers in the playground when they’re wearing safety goggles, and have signs on packets of nuts warning that the contents may contain nuts (!) then the Isle of Man is a last, great bastion of bike racers doing what they do best – pitting themselves and their state-of-the-art machines against the legendary TT course.

Yes, it’s tough and things do happen there but those who call themselves TT racers are all grown-ups who do what they do with eyes wide open.

Here’s to them all having a safe and fast TT 2010, and hopefully we’ll see them and you at TT 2011.

John’s feature starts on page 50.

Tony Carter