You do have to be a little mad in order to successfully race at high speeds. Racing means taking risk and sometimes, you just have to go for the gap, relying only on skills.
That’s why Jeremy Clarkson stated – multiple times – that racing drivers are a little… well, empty headed.
Obviously, that’s not true, but after seeing how motorcycle racers behave in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race, you will be questioning their sanity. But that’s what makes them racing athletes. Good racing athletes.
I promise you, after seeing these videos, your world will be turned upside down. As Hemingway stated “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”
But what is the Isle of Man TT, anyway? Well, it’s an annual motor-cycle racing event held on the Isle of Man. Scrap that; it’s the most hardcore motorcycle event, ever.
Anyone can enter, the racers are divided by classes and the race itself takes place in and between villages, all across the island, on twisty, straight and narrow roads. The circuit itself could be called a street-circuit, although it’s unique in its own way. The bottom line is that, the riders achieve incredible speeds on public roads flanked by curbs, stone walls and buildings, without much safety concerns.
In fact, from 1907 to 2015, 256 riders have lost their lives. 256 people racing like lunatics have died. Think about that. The worst year for fatalities was 1970, when six pilots were killed. In 2013, a bloke lost control of his bike and the thing hit eleven spectators.
This year? Well, the record has been beaten by John McGuiness, who managed to take his Honda CBR1000RR around the course in 17 minutes and 3 seconds with a whopping 213 Km/h (132 Mph) speed average.
But get a load of Bruce Anstey how he manages to keep his CBR600RR under control after hitting a curb at 260 km/h (160 Mph) in the video below. That’s astonishing, considering that when a crotch rocket decides it’s rodeo time after losing its balance, you can barely keep it tamed. Don’t blink, or you might miss the action!
The rules are simple: “Go big, or go home”. Anyway, I prepped a couple more cool videos, filmed over the years, just to give you guys a general idea on what’s going on over there.