#IsleOfManTt

Check out a lap of the Isle of Man TT from the top of Gary Johnson’s Bell Star helmet with 360fly camera. For proper 360-degree viewing on a laptop/desktop computer use a Google Chrome browser. For viewing on a mobile device use the Youtube mobile app.

This week’s video come from our correspondent Andrew Capone on the Isle of Man for the annual TT races. Capone sent us this video of the Suter MMX 500 two-stroke warming up ahead of the Senior TT. “I smell like Castrol R, and I like it,” Capone wrote, when he filed the video.

My ‘office’ on the Isle of Man today is the Creg-ny-Baa pub, one of the best vantage points for race watching on the TT Course. Up here you can see the race bikes come straight down from Kate’s Cottage for over ½ mile, reaching 180 mph, braking hard, then banking over and pinning it again down to Brandish. They’re already 34 miles into a lap, and from the balcony of the Creg, you can see and appreciate the bike’s suspension and motor working in harmony with the brain chemistry of the rider to achieve unthinkable speeds and the smooth, consistent riding required to succeed at the TT.

Arriving on the Isle of Man for the TT during the somewhat quieter Practice Week allows for a visiting motorcyclist to make number of adjustments. Not the least of which is that you are no longer on Earth, that place where most people don’t like you. You are now in a parallel reality, where folks are warm and accommodating to bikers, and the average citizen knows that Bruce Anstey is racing a Honda RC213V-S this year. On the IOM, motorbikes are abundant and admired, the beer and air are pure, meaning-of-life vistas greet you at every turn, and race bikes achieve astounding speeds on public roads. All dogs may go to heaven, but we go here, and it’s better.

With a history dating back to 1907, the Isle of Man TT stands alone as the most exciting event in motorsports. But beyond the racing, it is the total, immersive nature of the fortnight that makes the TT a singular experience. There is nothing virtual about the reality of being on the Isle of Man for the TT.

Victory revealed a new electric sportbike prototype featuring an all-new battery module from Brammo. Described as a test bed for the company’s future powertrains, the new Victory RR will make its racing debut in the TT Zero class in the 2016 Isle of Man TT beginning May 28.

It is with great sadness that we report of the passing of one of motorcycling’s most controversial figures. Michael Czysz died Saturday, May 7 after a long battle with cancer.

Read that headline again: Suter MMX 500 Two-Stroke To Race Isle Of Man TT. That’s right, Suter’s 580cc V-4 two-stroke grand prix replica is going to compete at the Isle of Man TT this year, not just parade around for a celebration lap. The news was reported on the official Isle of Man TT website, wherein it was also announced the MMX 500 would compete in both the Superbike class and the TT’s premier category: The six-lap Senior TT. If you’re not familiar with the MMX 500, you can read more about it here.

I’m tucked in behind the bubble of an authentic Isle of Man TT racer watching numbers roll past 140 mph on the speedometer, but there’s not even a whisper from the engine. That’s because this Victory doesn’t have an engine – it uses an electric motor.

Motorcycle road racing is ingrained in the asphalt of Northern Ireland’s North Coast, and Guy Martin is one of the sport’s most famous sons. But with his many competing passions, including a bourgeoning TV career, we wondered if the speed-obsessed Englishman might be preparing to exit the road racing career that has built his luminescent personality.

Anyone who’s been paying attention lately knows that electricity ain’t just for golf carts anymore – e-bikes can be seriously fast! But how quick can a podium-finishing Isle of Man TT e-bike get down a quarter-mile dragstrip?

Having just recovered from my 8th annual trip to the Isle of Man, and already planning for next year’s endeavor, it’s time to look back on what was, by any measure, one of the great TT fortnights in the storied 108-year history of the event. And, to premiere the 2015 edition of the Motorcycle.com TT Review video, five minutes of sights, sound and motion from the greatest motorsports event on Earth.

The 2015 Isle of Man TT festival has been a corker. McGuinness, Hutchinson, Anstey and a host of up and coming riders set lap records and made history. And to cap it, the island has bathed in near-perfect weather. Save for a few days in practice week where the a storm and the misty ‘Cloak of Mannanan’ descended upon the island, wreaking havoc with riders, campers and race organizers, we have been blessed with sunny, warm Northern California-esque conditions for virtually the entire meet.

I have heard the future. And if you listen closely to the video snippet below, you will as well. It’s the whining sound barely discernable under the commentary on the loudspeaker and the beating rotors of the helicopter. That is John McGuinness rounding the corner at Creg-ny-Baa on his way to winning today’s Isle of Man TT Zero race, at a new lap record of over 119 mph. The snippet following that is of Lee Johnston on the Victory electric prototype. Johnston claimed third place at 111.620 mph, a stellar accomplishment for the American brand that is pressing forward into segments and markets virtually unthinkable just a few months ago. Johnston had been running increasingly faster laps throughout practice as he became more familiar with the bike, and he rode his fastest lap when it mattered most.

It takes a few days to settle in after landing on the Isle of Man for the TT races. This is the result of jet lag, the overwhelming assault on the senses that the races provide, and of course, late evenings in the pubs. The best way to clear the head is to get on a motorbike and tour this magical island. I wrote about it last year, and after eight IOM visits and many miles, the absolute pleasure of riding here is undiminished.