WELCOME (Taken from www.islandracer.co.uk)
Over the past couple of years, there has been a paradigm shift in the way the races have happened.
The two-strokes have been moved off the Mountain Course to their new home at Billown, the big bike classes have been tougher for riders to get into and the whole event has really picked up its game to be a superb bit of big bike entertainment. At the centre of it all has been a real desire, a real need for things to progress.
To move forward and grab back that spark of previous years. The modern TT races are just as exciting as they’ve always been, but with the new look, the efforts of all involved behind the scenes and those people in pitlane, manning marshal posts and riding the bikes themselves – the TT is being appreciated by a much bigger audience. And rightly so. Last year saw that huge global interest served very well with a string of drama, brilliance, tension and joy that only the TT can bring. The Senior race itself was a classic. I don’t care where your usual hit of motorcycle racing fun comes from, whether it’s MotoGP, WSB or BSB – you’ll be hard pushed to top the multi-bike shootout we saw around the famous road circuit in 2008. And so it is that this year promises to be even better.
The big names are back, with big names returning to the course, too. And like in the previous glory days of the event, they all know and race each other regularly. That in itself brings an extra element to the races. This year it’s not just about man and machine against track and the clock, there’s quite a bit of racing psychology going on, also.
It all adds to the wonderful, scintillating world that for two weeks in the middle of summer takes over an island in the Irish Sea. As a race, as a party and as an event the TT is bigger, better and bolder than before. Past glories help define what the modern TT is, but the baton has now been taken on by a powerful motorcycle racing breed in pursuit of the ultimate. The ultimate race, the ultimate thrill on the ultimate course. And the 2009 TT races look like being among the best of all time. Enjoy.
Tony Carter
Read more about Island Racer on their website: www.islandracer.co.uk
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