Because we are (hopefully) arriving on the Isle of Man today, here’s a great article about this year’s IOM TT Races. Much maligned by many in the “mainstream media”* (especially the pisspoor Sky News), there is still something very special about this two week period for many, and it’s often seen as something of a pilgrimage for motorcyclists the world over.
And if you think “oh, well it’s just more motor racing”, you really couldn’t be more wrong:
Formula One has turned itself into a mainstream sport by focusing on everything outside the racing. The way F1 is marketed makes it seem almost like they want you to ignore the racing because they understand that it is dull, and that they cannot fix that it is dull, and instead focus on that there are things to do to distract you from that dull racing.
It’s true. One guy wins all the races…
…and so you have to turn to Netflix documentaries and pitlane feuds to prop up the excitement.
The TT is the same, but also almost totally the opposite. If you have only ever experienced the TT from the sofa – rather than a grass bank, a garden, or a hedge – it is likely that, on arriving to the island for the first time, you will simply be blown away by the amount of people there, and the amount of motorcycles. There is a lot going on outside the racing, but it is all created by people who are there primarily for the racing, so it doesn’t detract or distract from the racing, because it is, ultimately, generated by the racing.
I don’t envy the author. It truly is an experience which is near indefinable in words. But he gives it a good go, and I quite like the honest, warts-and-all approach he takes. Less so the awful photos that he took, but hey, you can’t have everything.
It’s a good read. Especially (but not exclusively) if you like your island-based, two-wheeled motorsport.
* amazing albeit accidental alliteration
