Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128620
Ben e lli's Presenc e at the Isle of Man IT vis it in 30 years (I was there la st as a nin e yea r o ld) . We used to stay in a bed -an d -br e a kfa st type pla ce in Douglas , a town th at fills to th e g ill with sportb ike enthusiasts for th e e nt ire IT fo rtn igh t. Pictur e Da yton a , but substi tute the Ha rleys with spo rtb ikes a nd you'l l h a v e a genera l idea of the scope of enthus iasts on t he Island . Add in the fact tha t the s e a re ra c e fans, not just posers , and they actual ly attend the races . I reca ll nonc ha la ntly say ing goodbye to m y father as he took off for a race or practic e session atthe IT like any other child sending their father off to work with their best wis he s. T he po pular s ay ing is , "If I only knew then what I know now." All I ca n say is that I'm glad I did n't know the n what I kno w now. I wou ld have been scar ed beyond be lief sending d ear old dad out for a da y at the office at the Isle of Man . Racing at th e Is le of Man at s peeds qu ic k eno ugh to win m ust be a tru ly harrow ing experience . My fath e r won th er e twice. He 's even a bigg er her o tha n I thought. I wo n 't bo re you wit h how much fu n I h ad w it h m y fa t he r a n d th e pe ople from Bene lli for thr ee days at th e Isle of Man , bu t I will te ll you tha t it ' s a n e ve n t yo u s ho u ld atte nd. Wa tching it o n te le vis ion is a th rill, be ing th er e is eve n bette r. If yo u a re a road ra cin g fa n , a sportbike en thu s iast , o r ju st a moto rc ycli st, th e Isl e o f Ma n sho uld be on y o ur lis t of eN futu re dest inati on s . B y PAUL C A RRUT HE RS PH OT OS BY C A RRUT HE RS AN D COU RTESY OF B E N ELLI ve ry ye ar from 1966 to 197 0 , our fa m ily s pent the first part of J une on th e Is le of Man as m y fathe r took part in th e a n n ua l TT ra ces th ere . Ba c k th e n , th e ra c e was a ro und of t h e Worl d Ch am p io ns h ip , a n d was ar g ua bly the big gest road ra ce in th e wo rld . If yo u want ed to b e Wo rld Champion , you had to do we ll at the Isl e of Ma n . If yo u wa nte d a factor y ride , yo u ha d to do well at the Isle of Ma n . If yo u w a nt ed t o be Wo r ld Ch am pion , you ne ed a facto ry ride . S o I gu ess you could s ay it wa s fu ll ci rcl e . In 1969, my father - Ke l Carrut he rs - was fina lly given th e o ppo rtunity to ride a fa ctor y bike and that oppo rtunity c a me, iron ica lly eno ug h, at th e Is le of Man . With th e ir s ta r rid er Re nzo Pasolini injur ed , Benelli a p p roache d Ca rrut he rs upon o u r a rr ival o n th e Island with th e offer of a lifetime. He took tha t offe r a nd ra n with it, winning th e first of his two Light we ight 250c c E 44 JULY 5.2000 ' CUe I e TTs o n th e Be ne lli ( h is s e c o nd win wou ld co me a ye a r later on a Ya m a h a ). Th a t rid e at th e TT e nd ed u p earn ing h im t he Be n ell i rid e for the res t of the season a nd he ag a in c a pita lized on the opportun ity to win the 250c c World Ch ampion sh ip. It was a n inc redi b le yea r. As part of Benelli's tribute to Dario Am bros in i's IT victor y in 1950 , th e Italia n com pa ny return ed to the Is la nd th is year - celebrating th e o ld with the new as th e y a lso took th e o ppo rtunity to la u n c h th e ne w 90 0cc T orn ad o Triple s at th e 10M. As pa rt of the p ro gram , Ca rruthers was invited to jo in the pre sident of Ben elli, And re a Merloni, in leadi ng a Bene lli Lap of Hono r around the IT c ircu it. The pair wo uld ride the new Torn ados at th e head of a fie ld of rider s riding va rious mod els of Be n e llis . Na tu ra ll y , C a rr uth er s j u m p e d a t t h e o p p or t u ni t y a nd I so m e how m a n a g ed t o wr a ngle m y way in as we ll. And I was even a ble to do a lap (see sid ebar) - m y first as a n a dult and m y first on a m ot or cycle . It's s t rang e ho w muc h I rem embered of th e Isle o f Man in m y firs t ne,", s IAbovel Former 250cc World Champion Kel Carruthers (2) and Benelli president Andrea Merloni (1) lead the Benelli parade lap at the Isle of Man TT on brand-new Superbike versions of the Tornado 900 t r ip l e s. (Bel ow) Sportbi kes, sportbikes, sportbikes. The Isl e of Man is full of them. Road racing enthusiasts f ill the Island for the TT.