<--REQUEST INFO-use this link to ASK questions about the TT| BULLETIN ONE----WORP FIVE, MR SULU------IT'S TT TIME AGAIN !!!!!! | |
| BULLETIN TWO............CHRYSALIS RACING RETURNS.... | |
After a tough eight months the brothers set out with hopes of success and to pay tribute to their late fathers previous successes. The Singles TT is on Wednesday 7th June at 10.15 am so look out for Jason Griffiths (no.52) and John McGuinness (no.56) on the Chrysalis AMDM 720cc Machines. To access the CHRYSALIS RACING website direct, please click on  | |
| BULLETIN THREE..........GIRL SIDECAR TEAM FROM AMERICA ARRIVES MANXSIDE...... | |
 TO AN IOM TT HISTORY-MAKING ALL-GIRL SIDECAR RACE TEAM A special Hi to WENDY EPSTEIN and DAWNA HOLLOWAY WHO HAIL FROM AMERICA See more about the Association they are representing by clicking on photos below OF NORTH AMERICA CLIKPIX   | |
| BULLETIN FOUR...........ON THE ISLAND......................FIRST PRACTICE SESSIONS..... | |
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IT IS DEFINITELY ON----The TT has started with practice tonight--weather apparently is "GOOD" (thank you Mike) He reckons Number NINE is really pushing it along tonight He is now on his way up to Creg to watch from there. thank you jessica PRACTICE TIMES ARE ON www.iomtt.com | |
| BULLETIN FIVE..FROM TTFAN IN THE HILTON WHICH USED TO BE THE STAKIS | |
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Apparently, STAKIS changed into HILTON via LADBROKES last year after the TT and they all ran together for a while. Only eight weeks ago it became THE HILTON and has had quite an impressive face lift. The same itinerants haunt the bar and it was just like last year except for the beer mats. I was introduced to Bar Manager JIMMY MCGUIRE who has given me all the information about this years BIKESHED (with the BIKESHED BABES--Thanks Jimmy !!) and the WEST COAST PITSTOP with bands and karaoke-- KELLY SIMPSON looked after me with my Monday lunch and kept me plied with wine and cokes. ....and wine and cokes and food and wine and cokes and food !!! | |
| BULLETIN SIX-LET BATTLE COMMENCE--BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY--AM & PM PRACTICES | |
But we STILL went out, full of hope..... And we were NOT disappointed. However, roads were wet all round the course with surface water in places and some mist evident on the mountain reducing visibility to 200 yards in places. We saw some brave solos and then the Sidecars including the debut of the ALL GIRLS TEAM from the USA. Stalling on the line was not a good start but they enjoyed a brisk lap. Driver Wendy stated that she literally did not know where she was until the seventeenth corner !! Dawna enjoyed her lap but requested a large perspex windshield to protect her against the wind before her next outing. TTFAN asked Wendy if they had passed anyone and she laughed. " Only two broken down guys on the side of the road and a few marshalls " she said. I THINK she meant a male sidecar team which had broken down--Maybe ? She is from Seattle, Washington and owns and operates TWO sidecar outfits         We hope you will both return in 2001 | |
| BULLETIN SEVEN----CLASSIC RACES ON THE BILLOWN CIRCUIT | |
| BULLETIN EIGHT THEY'RE BACK !!--HAPPY RETURNS INDEED | |
He showed me the scar which left me in no doubt that he is a very lucky man to be back this year. Shaun has worked hard to make his broken arm heal and become strong again.... We are all pleased to see you back, Shaun I had a good chat with the team and confidence is very high that TRIUMPH will do well this year | |
| BULLETIN NINE DUNLOP EXHIBITION | |
Admission £5, children free. | |
| BULLETIN TEN.....TTFAN AT THE HIGHLANDER-Monday PM | |
I parked in the allotted area and met Marshal David Baxter. He was on his own and we talked all things of mutual interest about the Island and the TT. Practice was just about to start when the phone rang, to tell David to hold out a Yellow flag to signify caution...  It appeared that a fire hydrant cover had sunk just off the racing line in the Greeba Castle section !!!!  So the practice started and within minutes the bikes flashed past with David and me sharing the caution flagshow. The Highlander is just FAST to say the least and seeing this section again reminded me of when my friend Doug Randall was the fastest privateer on his Suzuki in the very early eighties. He was clocked at 153 mph then.. Dear knows what the speeds are now !! The HIGHLANDER is recommended, mainly to witness pure speed and a very great number of different racing approaches to Greeba One incident to note No.44 Junior, Scott Richardson on a Honda, arrived at the Highlander slower than the rest, "pedalling" down the right-hand pavement shouting "Extinguisher! extinguisher!"----His Honda was actually on fire and David the marshall thrust the yellow flag into my hands and sprinted with the extinguisher to put out the belly pan conflagration...... I phoned race control to let them know about the drama that had enfolded... Scott then ran back up the hill to the crossroads to scrounge a lift back to the paddock to pick up his other bike.. ( Poor Scott subsequently crashed in the races, sustaining serious leg injuries... We send our best wishes to him and his family, hoping he has a quick recovery...) So thats the HIGHLANDER to put on your list of VERY GOOD vantage spots FLASH--DAVID JEFFERIES GOES ROUND IN 18.11.6=124.43-THE CHIPS ARE DOWN !!! | |
| BULLETIN ELEVEN......SPEEDING UP !!!!!! | |
Now at this point on the course man and machine have just negotiated Quarry Bends and now have an awesomely long throttle-against-the-stop straight We spectators are literally moved as the bikes push a massive volume of air ahead of themselves One spectator had his cap blown into the Hotel doorway !   Once the first part of this practice session was completed, we decided to take the backroads to RAMSEY. We watched in Parliament Square and saw No.80 get the black flag because BOTH of his exhaust pipes were loose.  Then we moved to May Hill and saw some very hairy approaches.As the Sidecars set out, we followed the coast road back to Onchan and watched them at Governors Bridge.. This is the beauty of the TT-- You CAN see a variety of excellent spots thanks to all the little back roads Then its back to the HILTON for a drink or two  ALL PRACTICE TIMES AVAILABLE BY CLICKING ON | |
| BULLETIN TWELVE-----------WEDNESDAY MORNING | |
So we went just down the road from where we are staying to KIRK BRADDAN which was quite "X-Files" at THAT time in the morning I have always liked Kirk Braddan and this morning with the eye-shattering dawn with the sound of coughing birds (they are NOT with us !) did nothing to put me off Good seating all with the perfect view and an interesting double bend to see solos and sidecars taking a mess of lines Even those in the know, take different lines from each other, but it great to see the works riders and longtime contenders take their own line, on the same piece of tarmac EVERY, EVERY time............ We are warned that weather MAY break for tonights practice | |
| BULLETIN THIRTEEN.......AFTERNOON PRACTICE OFF........... | |
I of course accepted and was up at the crack of dawn to get to NOBLES PARK to be interviewed on subjects such as my visits to the TT and my new hobby webwriting my site... www.ttfan.co.uk The interview went over well, but we had to hang on tightly to the microphone, and the desk, and the CDs, and the caravan, and George Ferguson, and Patrick Lunt, and that very nice female member on the staff of RADIO TT..........!  ( Patrick had an unfortunate accident after this interview when he had a tumble in the Suzuki Village Trials Course..The injuries sustained put Patrick hors-de combat for a few days and he returned home without his beloved Pan European which came back c/o the R.A.C. ) It was windy and drizzling at 9AM and a very misty morning, the heavens finally opened at 11.15 AM and by 12.30 the heavy rain, the total loss of visibility and the wet roads caused the official cancellation of Thursday afternoons practice. This practice was quite important because it is the only practice which is held during the hours when the races will be held next week.... It used to be mostly critical for the two-strokes, since it was the only practice when all carburation could be set up in anticipation of the race. Nowadays, it is less important other than to finalise suspensions and tyre pressures and to, of course, qualify even !!!  As a result of the cancellation, it was good to be able to visit Steve Hislop at his nice home and to see Conor who will be one year old on Senior Friday... Steve remembered our association from as long ago as 1989 when he was with Honda, and I still remember him telling me that he had actually seen me at Keppel Gate, standing behind the wall in my Silkolene Paddock Jacket !! Considering the speed he must have been doing, I was surprised that he even saw the WALL !!! Thanks Steve for your hospitality today, and your continued friendship.  STEVE HISLOP AND TTFAN |
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