Tania Nadarajah blog: McGuinness makes his mark
Published: Monday, 6 June 2011, 10:48AM
I love the smell of superbikes in the morning.
Nothing beats the anticipation of race day, and as Saturday dawned sunny and bright on "the rock", the entire Isle of Man geared up for the first race of the week. Visitor numbers swelled overnight and there was a real buzz in the air.
It was all eyes on the riders as the big Superbikes lined up for a midday start. These mean machines have been ripped apart and modified by their mechanics, so tensions were running high to see if the adjustments made during the week would pay off.
And if you thought the practice sessions during the week before were exciting, they’re not a patch on the adrenalin-fuelled, nerve-shredding experience (even for the spectators) of the first race. It was visors down, eyes focussed on the road ahead and itchy throttle hands revving as the riders waited for their signal then exploded off the start line one by one.
With the race under way, I moved next to the pit lane to take in the action and the blistering speeds of the bikes as they passed. There’s nothing quite like the sound of an engine screaming past you at almost 180mph to give you goosebumps.
Many underestimate the distance and complexity of the Mountain Course but once you’ve seen it for yourself, it’s mind-boggling to comprehend that it takes the race leaders under 18 minutes to get all the way round.
I bagged a seat in the Course Inspector’s Subaru WRX earlier in the day as they did a lap to check the road conditions, and boy, what a lap it was. At the hands of an experienced rally driver, we were centimetres from stone walls and buildings that flank the roads. There is absolutely no room for mistakes here.
The same couldn’t be said of the pit lane where things didn’t go according to plan for some. All the bikes came in twice during the six-lap race for a rear tyre change, refuel and new visor although something went really wrong for Michael Dunlop. He was off the bike, ripping off his visor and almost throwing it at his pit crew at one stage, losing valuable seconds.
Gary Johnson also ended up adding 30 seconds to his time thanks to a penalty for breaking the 60km per hour speed limit. It’s easier than you might think to get a little enthusiastic with speed down the pit lane, considering that seconds later they’re doing over 170mph at the bottom of Bray Hill.
But one man who had a faultless ride was John McGuinness, leading to his well-deserved sixteenth win. The crowds around the winner’s enclosure erupted into huge cheers as he brought the Honda TT Legends Superbike home and he was clearly thrilled as he took to the podium with Douglas and Johnson in second and third places respectively.
So as much as I’d like to leave you with a picture of Craig Doyle’s shoes (watch the show, you’ll see what I mean), the photo of the day can only belong to one man: a joyful John McGuinness.