Out and About at the 2023 Isle of Man TT - Final Report

Was it a simulation?  The brilliant sunshine, cloudless skies, zero precipitation, and 70-degree daily temperatures for the entire fortnight of 2023 Isle of Man TT was the best weather I’ve ever experienced in 14 trips here. Hell, it was the best stretch of weather I’ve ever experienced on a vacation, anywhere. And it made for a memorable TT for the tens of thousands of enthusiasts on the annual hejira to this unequalled motorbike racing festival.

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Out and About at the 2023 Isle of Man TT – Part 2

Michael Dunlop, Peter Hickman, Dean Harrison. These three riders have been dominating the podium at the 2023 Isle of Man TT Races, pushing each other relentlessly for up to 226 miles per race around the most punishing course in all of motorsports, thrilling the fans that line the roads on hedges, grandstands and pubs.

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Out and About at the 2023 Isle of Man TT – Part 1

Greetings from the Isle of Man, where I am bathing in unprecedented warmth and sunshine for the 2023 TT races, my 14th trip to this remarkable event. Qualifying week has seen immaculate conditions. Michael Dunlop, Dean Harrison and Peter Hickman are all turning 134 mph laps (UPDATE: Dunlop has now set an unofficial lap record of 135.531 mph during the last day of Superbike qualifying! -Ed.). Hickman hit an unprecedented 202.3 mph at the Sulby speed trap. Dunlop has unofficially smashed his own SuperTwin lap record by five seconds, and the sidecars are hitting nearly 120 mph per lap. In practice sessions! It is going to be a mega- TT, and you should subscribe to TT+ streaming.

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No Room For Error: Inside The Isle Of Man TT

Imagine doing what you do for a living and at the end of the day being thrilled you’re still alive. - Lee Johnston

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MO Viewed: Tourist Trophy

We know that regular MO readers are fans of the Isle of Man TT. Friend of MO, Andrew Capone, gives us annual posts from the event, and the analytics tell us that they are very popular. So, the release of the feature-length documentary film Tourist Trophy should spark more than a little interest among the fans. Over the course of 90+ minutes, viewers get the opportunity to get to know some of the variety of riders taking part in the 2022 Isle of Man TT. 

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Insider Stories From The Ducati Museum

As a general rule, I tend to listen to museum curators once they start talking. Having someone at your disposal who is so deeply vested, and intimately knowledgeable, in the subject matter is a treasure worth hanging on to.

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Out and About at The Isle of Man TT 2022 – Part 2

With two years of racing canceled due to COVID, the lead up to the 2022 Isle of Man TT was fraught with concern over… well, everything. The Isle of Man is a speck of a country in the middle of the Irish Sea, with only 88,000 residents, that somehow girds up and welcomes 40,000 visitors, 13,000 bikes and an army of riders, teams, volunteer Marshals and support personnel for a two-week festival around the incredible Mountain Course.

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Out and About at The Isle of Man TT 2022 – Part 1

You see, here’s the thing about the Isle of Man TT. It shouldn’t be thought of as a “bucket list” event. The TT is The Bucket. The 115 year old vessel which holds the best of motorcycle racing history, technology, competition, camaraderie, and culture. It is surrounded by the places and the people and the spirits that form a shared experience unrivaled in motorsports. And once you indulge, you will know that once is not enough. This is trip number thirteen for me. And as in years past, rather than just report on the results of the TT Races, I’ll give Motorcycle.com readers a sense of what goes on throughout the fortnight, out and about on The Isle of Man.

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Metzeler Tires: Everything You Need To Know

Fun fact: Metzeler, the company we now know for its motorcycle tires, used to be in the business of making sausage casings. Yeah, sausages. Like the things we stick between buns and eat at baseball games. This was just one of the many different business ventures under the Metzeler umbrella during its 158-year history.

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2020 Isle of Man TT Cancelled Due to COVID-19

The 2020 Isle of Man TT has officially been cancelled in order to help protect the island’s residents against the novel Coronavirus pandemic. The news should not come as a surprise, as other major events around the world, not just motorsports events such as MotoGP, World Superbike and the Daytona TT have been either postponed or outright cancelled to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

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Motorcycle Traveler - Book Review

What would you do if you came face to face with your own mortality? For many of us, especially in this sport, it’s a scenario we think about in the abstract; we’re either going to go out in a blaze of glory doing something we love, or Father Time will continue undefeated. We don’t think, much less expect, something like cancer to get in the way of our plans. Peter Starr was one of those people, living comfortably – some would even say successfully – thanks to motorcycles.

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Riding, And Racing, The Lightfighter LFR19 Electric Motorcycle - Part 1

The history book (or Wikipedia page, if that’s your thing) on electric motorcycles is rather slim, especially compared to its internal combustion counterparts, but what you’ll find is a myriad of ideas and concepts. Such is the beauty of a technology in its infancy. The section on electric racing motorcycles is even thinner. If you discount the inaugural MotoE championship running alongside MotoGP this year, the biggest stage for electric racing motorcycles has been the Isle of Man TT Zero race, wherein each entry tries to complete one full lap around the 37-mile course as fast as possible. Well, it was until the event was put on hold for at least two years. The machines you would have found at the TT Zero are full of ideas and concepts to win the race, but the one constant is the fact the batteries dominate the vehicle’s overall design. It’s understandable, considering you need a lot of battery to travel nearly 40 miles at 150-plus miles per hour.

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Isle of Man TT 2019 Wrap-up

Yes, it rained for the better part of two weeks. Until it didn’t. And then all hell broke loose on the Mountain Course. The pubs, hotels, and campsites emptied, the Parc Fermé lit up, and qualifying and racing got underway as an unusual and stirring race fortnight on the Isle of Man drew to a fitting climax.

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Out and About at the Isle of Man TT 2019

As Sunday unfolded, an unfamiliar yellow orb rose in the sky over the Isle of Man, and a stiff wind blew the eerie mist known as The Cloak of Mannanan out to the Irish Sea. Weary sojourners emerged from crowded pubs and soggy tents. The TT Paddock buzzed with energy. After five consecutive days of qualifying canceled and racing delayed, motorbikes and sidecar outfits took to the 37.73-mile Mountain Course in anger. The 2019 TT was finally on.

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2019 Isle of Man TT Preview

The 100th meeting of the Isle of Man TT is nearly upon us, with competitors getting ready to tackle the 37.73-mile Snaefell Mountain Course.

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