Bike_UK_July_2017

Sector 2: Glen Helen to Ballaugh Bridge 7.6 miles
Fastest time: 3m 02.142s (150.99mph), Time at legal road speed: 12 mins
Rider/ bike/race: Michael Dunlop (BMW S1000RR) 2016 Senior, lap 2
PERFECT TT LAP
Glen Helen is where the TT had its first
fatality, in 1911. You’re still under the
trees, zig-zagging up Creg Willeys hill
at ever-increasing speed, then leaping
onto the Cronk y Voddy straight which
takes you into one of the Mountain
course’s sweetest sections, downhill
through the 11th Milestone and through
McGuinness’: classic, high-speed sweeps
through the hedgerows. And then it gets
scary again: the heart-in-mouth descent of
Barregarrow is followed by the buttclenching
13th Milestone. Again, this is
Dunlop territory: he’s brave and precise
and most important of all he knows how to
let the bike do what it wants; up to a point.
Kirk Michael is a thrill: kerb to kerb
through the village, then boss the bike over
the scary Rhencullen jump and under the
bubble for the crazy-fast run towards
Ballaugh.
Plater’s points
‘I reckon the second and third sectors are
the hardest: they’re a bit hard to remember
and the road is bloody rough in places.
Every TT racer
has his good
sectors and the
sectors he hates
People have their favourite sectors, so it’s a
case of riding the bike hard in your
favourite bits and just surviving in your
negative parts; that was my mentality.
Through this sector you’ve got the 13th
Milestone and all that; some bloody
horrible sections – blind, downhill and
flipping rough – until you get through to
Kirk Michael. This is one of those sections
where, more than anything, it’s a case of
getting a good flow going.’
Best place to watch
There are several viewing areas through
Kirk Michael village, including the
grounds of the White House. The road is
unbelievably fast here with sensations of
speed and sound magnified by buildings.
DAVE COLLISTER
At these speeds and on
these surfaces you
need to be 100%
accurate
Sector 3: Ballaugh Bridge to Ramsey Hairpin 7.3 miles
Fastest time: 3m 12.475s (140.38mph), time at legal speeds: 14 minutes
Rider/ bike/race: Michael Dunlop (BMW S1000RR) 2016 Senior, lap 2,
DAVE COLLISTER
You take the jump at Ballaugh at maybe
60 miles an hour, but it feels so slow,
like you’re walking over the bridge
after the high-speed run from Kirk
Michael. Then it’s another wildly fast blast
– including the 150mph jump at Ballacrye
– through the short-circuit style Quarry
Bends and down Sulby straight, nudging
200 miles an hour. Easy to misjudge Sulby
Bridge after that, then past the Ginger Hall
pub and into what many consider to be the
nastiest part. The ride from Kerrowmoar to
Ramsey is so bumpy it’s like motocross.
Dunlop, and other top riders, stands on
the footpegs here, using every muscle in his
body to keep the bike between the kerbs
and hedgerows. Then there’s the terror of
Milntown Cottage, just before Ramsey: you
ride straight at the building in sixth gear,
then peel off at the last moment.
Plater’s points
‘Ginger Hall to Ramsey is unbelievable. In
some parts it’s so bloody rough that you’re
struggling to visualise your reference
points. So once again you have to be 100
percent accurate because you’re travelling
at such high speed. You’re standing up
through the really bumpy stuff, with all
your weight on your feet. That makes the
bike do the work, not your body. Also,
you’re trying to keep yourself as relaxed as
possible and visualise those references.’
Best place to watch
If you want true essence of TT, get yourself
to the Gardeners Lane right-hander after
Milntown Bridge, on the entrance to
Ramsey. And prepare to be gobsmacked.
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