The Garage 278
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focus Motorsport<br />
28<br />
<strong>The</strong> isle of man tt<br />
minute variances in handling,<br />
grip or overall feel of the bike.<br />
To understand this better,<br />
we had the opportunity to be<br />
driven around the course with<br />
ex TT racer and current member<br />
of the Gulf BMW team,<br />
Mats Nilssan. Mats happily<br />
drove us in his Mercedes Brabus<br />
E-Class monster demonstrating<br />
and guiding us over<br />
every inch of the course at<br />
roughly (in parts) 160 plus<br />
mph.<br />
What we experienced can<br />
only be described as explothe<br />
thrill<br />
of the ride<br />
<strong>The</strong> Isle of Man TT<br />
is the pinnacle of motorcycle<br />
road racing<br />
and more than 100<br />
years on, enthusiasts<br />
and thrill seekers still flock<br />
to the island to witness this<br />
most magic of events, and the<br />
<strong>Garage</strong> was there, courtesy of<br />
Gulf BMW and Gulf Oil, to get<br />
up close and personal.<br />
In 1904 Sir Julian Orde<br />
(Secretary of the Automobile<br />
Club of Great Britain and Ireland)<br />
made his way across<br />
to the island as a 1903 Act<br />
of Parliament set a UK speed<br />
limit of only 20mph.<br />
Sir Julian felt that the<br />
Manx authorities would offer<br />
a more conciliatory attitude<br />
towards racing on public<br />
roads.<br />
His intuition served him<br />
well, as <strong>The</strong> Highways (Light<br />
Locomotive) Act 1904 gave<br />
permission in the Isle of Man<br />
for a 52.15 mile “Highlands”<br />
course for the Gordon Bennett<br />
Car Trial, the British trial<br />
for the fledgling European<br />
car racing championships.<br />
Today it’s the TT that attracts<br />
petrol heads to the island,<br />
all aspiring to ride the<br />
famous course that tantalises<br />
any fanatic of the motorised<br />
two wheels.<br />
In this supplement, we take<br />
a look behind the scenes and<br />
try to offer an insight into the<br />
mind of a TT racer and this<br />
great event.<br />
When you arrive on the Island<br />
for TT week, the first<br />
thing that greets you is the<br />
sheer mass of motorbikes.<br />
Everywhere you look there<br />
are groups of riders weaving<br />
in and out of the traffic,<br />
on some occasions virtually<br />
rubbing shoulders with the<br />
passing cars on the narrow<br />
streets. But what an atmosphere!<br />
<strong>The</strong> residents who all<br />
year round are blessed with a<br />
Gulf BMW<br />
TT Brief<br />
<strong>The</strong> Gulf BMW team were<br />
delighted with this year’s<br />
results at the Isle of Man<br />
TT. <strong>The</strong>y arrived at the<br />
event with the hopes<br />
of top 6 finishes, but in<br />
fact ended up with the<br />
following:<br />
Superbike Race 4th<br />
Superstock Race 4th<br />
Senior TT – retired<br />
more sedate life either take a<br />
holiday or embrace the madness.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Garage</strong> had the privilege<br />
of being able to delve<br />
into the heart of the event<br />
with Gulf BMW and the team.<br />
Headed up by owner Shaun<br />
Muir and the bike piloted by<br />
David (Davo) Johnson, we<br />
had an all-area access pass<br />
to watch and understand the<br />
workings of a race team preparing<br />
for the Super Stock<br />
race.<br />
A Super Stock bike is<br />
based on the bike you can<br />
buy from your dealer. <strong>The</strong> engine<br />
is almost identical to its<br />
road-going cousin with a few<br />
minor differences. You can<br />
use thinner gaskets to boost<br />
the compression ratio slightly,<br />
and you can retime your<br />
camshafts to jostle the power<br />
band around a bit for better<br />
mid-range poke and acceleration.<br />
Other than that, the<br />
configuration is as provided<br />
by the manufacturer.<br />
<strong>The</strong> garage environment (although<br />
mobile) is similar to<br />
the environment that all mechanics<br />
are used to. Standard<br />
tools are used to assemble<br />
and disassemble the machine<br />
before and after the race.<br />
Needless to say the mechanics<br />
are highly skilled and<br />
dedicated to creating the fastest<br />
possible bike. Constant<br />
dialogue is employed by mechanics<br />
and rider, discussing<br />
“<br />
We set off with expectations of being in the<br />
top 6. It was the first time at the Isle of Man<br />
for the Gulf BMW team, that’s two races down<br />
and two top 4 finishes achieved, delighted for<br />
a great team effort, especially Davo.<br />
”<br />
Shaun Muir team principal of Gulf BMW<br />
“<br />
<strong>The</strong> track was good, we had a steady<br />
start as the bike didn’t feel very good.<br />
We probably made a wrong choice of<br />
tyre, but it was still ok, once I got into it,<br />
I started picking them off and got to p4<br />
then it was me and Hilly (James Hillier)<br />
on the Kawasaki pretty much neck and<br />
neck, the last lap I just put my head<br />
down and got the my fastest<br />
lap of the race<br />
”<br />
David (Davo) Johnson<br />
pilot for Gulf BMW<br />
road racing team<br />
24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 Motor Sport.indd 5 22/06/2018 14:55
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