LENSPEED

By James Wong

We landed rather swiftly into the Isle of Man, and what perfect weather to welcome us to the idyllic island life. To be really honest you can’t tell that there is a motorbike race going on this week because it really feels like your typical British seaside resort town. The only giveaway is the thousand of bikers who have descended onto this island to witness the spectacle that is the IOMTT.

We had a bit of a warm up with some dirt biking and quad biking on the beach at Douglas Bay. There were some scary moments where people fallen off almost got run over by other people. I guess this is somewhat of a preview of the full monty races tomorrow.

The Isle of Man has some pretty serious enthusiast cars running about for an island with so few people. Although many GB-plated cars were awesome, the general feel that the Manx people really appreciate nice cars is very strong. Just walking down a quiet suburban street for instance and I encountered not just a GB GTR…

But a Manx Focus RS as well! The third one I saw in just a day!

I then headed off to the grandstand to understand where it was in Douglas, and my word it is a long walk uphill to get to it! Be warned…

Once you are there, the sights all seem familiar now if you have watched some footage of the TT. The refuelling stands, the red brick pits and the long straight at Bray Hill…

Also this is a cemetery just opposite the pits, according to That Near Death Thing this is where most deceased IOMTT riders are buried. So before any race riders usually go there to pay their respects.

Lots of fry ups about in the scorching weather!

So tomorrow will be the first IOMTT races I’ll watch. I can’t wait! Earplugs are ready and I think I have decided where I will watch: Grandstand first, then Creg Ny Baa!