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On board lap of the Isle of Man TT

groundhog

groundhog

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FredBGG said:
The Isle of Man TT is simply crazy and bordering on the savagery of Gladiators in Roman Times.
The riders are incredible. They ride this huge circuit and have to negotiate over 200 turns at
mind bending speeds. They do this while they are a 1/10th of second from death the whole time.
These guys have a nervous system and eyesight that run at speeds we simply do not have.

Whenever I watch Isle of Man videos I am amazed, but also feel guilty because it really is a absurd race with total disregard for juan life.

Sooner or later there is going to be a blood bath when a bike goes through a pack of spectators at 200 mph.
I really hope that never happens. 246 competitors killer so far. Some fatalities were even relatively slow speed collisions right into houses
right on the road. How these riders can race at such speeds on such a complex douse that has such a tough history amazes me.
The skill level and mindset is really something special.
Click to expand...
Nice one Fred, there's nothing like some cheerful, light hearted and fun comments ::025:: But of course you are right. It is mind blowing and extremely dangerous, but as with all forms of motor sport the riders/drivers love what they do and are well aware of the risks. Take a look at this video it's an interview with Guy Martin the rider of the first video and you get some idea of the mind set of the IOM riders........providing you can understand his accent ! He talks so quickly that I have trouble and I'm English :D https://youtu.be/MHxnTOCpN5w
 
S

scott123007

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That video was only 7 minutes long but was the single most telling interview I have ever heard. Without Guy ever even realizing it, he has pretty much defined the mentality of ones level of courage.
We all have to balance focusing on the "job at hand" with the "what if's" and that balance, or imbalance as it were, is what separates the chicken little's at the lowest rung of the ladder all the way up to the top tier racers in the world.
 
Grumpy

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Dogdaze said:
Wouldn't believe it, but Guy Martin is a diesel truck mechanic, and still does it, a very normal person on another level.
Click to expand...
And John McGuinness, a quiet family man, loves his food.
 
Checkswrecks

Checkswrecks

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groundhog said:
His favourite toy ! https://youtu.be/9wkxrQOkNdc
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Groundhog.
I used to work on Merlins in Mustangs nearly 40 years ago at Van Nuys and had to laugh when Guy Martin talked about scaring himself when he ran the rpm up. The airplanes have a hole through the tail and to do a high power run-up, you need to put a pipe through the hole, then chain the pipe to a tie-down.
In the Mustang and especially the racers with straightened tails, you need to very gradually come up on the power during takeoff. We had a relatively new owner take off out of Van Nuys who got a bit overly enthusiastic and could hear him goose it when the tail came off the ground and the gear started up. You could just envision that as he broke ground he selected gear up, brought his hand back to the throttle, and moved it forward. At low speed the Merlin's torque can overpower the rudder so that is a huge O-SHIT no-no near the ground!!!
???
The airplane did a quarter of a torque roll as we heard the power coming back, and it was just amazing he caught it before going inverted. As the power came back with a wingtip pointed at the ground, the next thing was that he must have also pulled the stick because the nose pitched up but up was now sideways. All we saw was belly as the airplane went hard left and barely missed a big hangar.
Wish I could remember who that owner was.

And while the IOM is the big race, it's hard for us civilized namby-pamby safety-oriented track-day Yanks to remember that the Irish run the Ireland 200 and more than a dozen other open road races every year. They get up to 200 mph on regular streets with buildings and curb stones right along the road!
 
S

scott123007

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Checkswrecks said:
And while the IOM is the big race, it's hard for us civilized namby-pamby safety-oriented track-day Yanks to remember that the Irish run the North West 200 and more than a dozen other open road races every year. They get up to 200 mph on regular streets with buildings and curb stones right along the road!
Click to expand...
Fixt :)
 
groundhog

groundhog

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Checkswrecks said:
Thanks for that Groundhog.
I used to work on Merlins in Mustangs nearly 40 years ago at Van Nuys and had to laugh when Guy Martin talked about scaring himself when he ran the rpm up. The airplanes have a hole through the tail and to do a high power run-up, you need to put a pipe through the hole, then chain the pipe to a tie-down.
In the Mustang and especially the racers with straightened tails, you need to very gradually come up on the power during takeoff. We had a relatively new owner take off out of Van Nuys who got a bit overly enthusiastic and could hear him goose it when the tail came off the ground and the gear started up. You could just envision that as he broke ground he selected gear up, brought his hand back to the throttle, and moved it forward. At low speed the Merlin's torque can overpower the rudder so that is a huge O-SHIT no-no near the ground!!!
???
The airplane did a quarter of a torque roll as we heard the power coming back, and it was just amazing he caught it before going inverted. As the power came back with a wingtip pointed at the ground, the next thing was that he must have also pulled the stick because the nose pitched up but up was now sideways. All we saw was belly as the airplane went hard left and barely missed a big hangar.
Wish I could remember who that owner was.

And while the IOM is the big race, it's hard for us civilized namby-pamby safety-oriented track-day Yanks to remember that the Irish run the Ireland 200 and more than a dozen other open road races every year. They get up to 200 mph on regular streets with buildings and curb stones right along the road!
Click to expand...
Great story Checkswrecks ::008::

Guy only races on the true road tracks in Ireland and the Isle of Man, and the only one in England at Scarborough. He has had victories at most of these events but still has to win at the IOM, his best being a second. He has a big following over here and I think most of the country is willing him on to get that first IOM victory. He has also been signed up for a two wheel world land speed record attempt next month at Boneville Salt flats, riding a a Triumph powered by two Rocket lll engines producing over 1000 bhp. The current record is around 376 mph and they are aiming for 400 mph.
 
groundhog

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Sorry to report that Guy had a crash yesterday at the Dunrod 150 race in Ireland. Whilst leading the race he had a big high side. He has a broken sternum, cracked ribs and a cracked vertebra, but being the man he is he is apparently talking about going back to work (not riding!) next week !! https://youtu.be/WyLXDhqjrUk
 
groundhog

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Apparently the land speed attempt was postponed due to bad weather at Bonneville, but I don't doubt he will be back for that and more racing !
 
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