Isle of Man TT: Gary Pinchin's blog - What an amazing two weeks

This is the first time I think I’ve ever been to the TT and felt truly sad about packing up to leave. 

Normally two weeks here feels like a long time but this year the racing has been so good, the weather so fantastic that I’m loath to leave.

Friday’s Senior TT lived up to all the expectations.  I can’t remember a time when two riders challenging for the lead were separated by split seconds for so long.

Okay, Cameron Donald hit problems on the last lap and we were denied a chance to see if John McGuinness could claw back the four second or so deficit but I don’t think anyone really worried .

Donald already had two wins in the bag and on one denied McGuinness, especially after the way he continually fought back each time Donald put the pressure on.

I think this year’s proved that the TT has now got some real depth to it. I’m sure diehard TT fans will prove me wrong, but I can’t remember a time when there were so many riders going into a big bike race who you could say could truly have finished on the rostrum:  the two Suzukis of Bruce Anstey and Donald, the Hondas of McGuinness, Guy Martin and Gary Johnson, the Yamahas of Ian Hutchinson and Steve Plater, and even the Kawasaki of Ryan Farquhar, even though it was ‘only’ a superstocker!

I know Cameron won two TTs but we kind of expected him to be fast. The surprise, I think for everyone, was just how much he’s smoothed out since his last time here in 2006. What a great future talent he is for the Isle of Man to promote.

Johnson for me was the revelation of this year’s TT. I keep saying it, but even he admits he didn’t really apply himself last year as far as preparation for the race. He was fast then for a newcomer but look how he’s blossomed this year and I reckon he’ll be on the shopping list of the manufacturer teams next year, including Honda who are coming back with a factory team to celebrate their 50 years since making their TT debut.

Plater’s Supersport win underlined what can be done in two years and could entice even more short circuit racers to invest their time into the event.

Michael Dunlop was impressive in his second TT, becoming the fastest Dunlop around the course. That surely should earn him a decent ride in 2009? 

James Hillier and Jamie Robinson had safe, fast TT debuts and Swede Mats Nilsson has to be a future TT winner after his 120mph+ lapping on the Padgetts Honda supersport bike.

It wasn’t just about newcomers either. People had written Farquhar off but he was so impressive, so smooth, so fast, running out of a tiny team, and being real hands on with bike prep. Adrian Archibald was bang on the money too in the Superbike and Superstock classes and like Farquhar, relished the small team, no pressure kind of environment.

Even when the Senior was done the racing wasn’t. The action moved to the 4.25mile Billown course on the outskirts of Castleton on Saturday evening and again it was a scorching day.

Best moment of the day was seeing James McBride in the paddock, who you’ll remember crashed early in practice week at Gorselea. People don’t normally survive a 150mph get-off there but McBride got lucky, although he still suffered some pretty serious injuries that put him in intensive care for a few days.

Although the compound fracture of his right arm has been plated he’s off to hospital on the mainland this week to get his upper arm operated on – basically the ball-joint that fits into the shoulder has been snapped off. But he said the vertebrae he cracked in his neck, the broken ribs and the bruised lung are all coming along fine.

He reckons he’s planning to be fit in time for the Ulster – and is already plotting his TT 2009 plans! 

The Billown races were tops. The place was packed with fans, enjoying the blistering sunshine and it’s a long time since I’ve been to a race meeting with such a laid back atmosphere, though the Southern 100 club still run the event with military precision.

Okay, Chris Palmer dominated the 12 lap, 51 mile 125cc TT  race but the 250cc TT produced a brilliant scrap, won by Ian Lougher from Ryan Farquhar. Neither rider had previously sat on their bikes prior to the meeting but they fought a right old scrap with Michael Dunlop, with the lead changing hands every lap  in the first half of the race until Dunlop pulled out.

Farquhar topped off his brilliant TT fortnight by winning the supporting 1000cc race on the same superstock ZX-10 that has now done all of the North West 200, all of the TT and the Billown meeting. Amazing motorcycle.

So that’s it for another year. Time to go down to Castletown to catch the flight back to the real world I guess. See you in the Island next year.