Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ ROAD RACE Isle of Man TT ~. Scotland's Steve Hislop won the Senior 'IT after averaging 121.28 mph; he alsO finished second in the F:I class on his Norton. Carl Fogarty became the fastest man to lap the Isle of Man course when he docked a 123.61 mph lap during the Senior 'IT. you the same. A 600 should be the limit for this place. Even they are lapping at 117 mph now." Fogarty was in full agreement. "Maybe a restriction to 600 would be a good idea," he commented. "Even a 500 GP would be better around here. At least they are more maneuverable and lighter than the 750s. The 750s are just too much. I was totally out of control down Bray Hill on the last lap (of the Senior). I wasn't riding that thing. It was riding me. "I said last year I didn't want to come back here again and right now I'm not too keen. It's hard to say for sure but I doubt if I'll ever be back again.'~ So why did they ride this year, after stating similar things last year following their sensational performances on the factory RVFs? "Money," .said Hislop. "It shows you the pathetic state of British short circuit racing when you are forced to come and ride at a place like this to earn some decent money." Hislop, with no full time short circuit ride this year, having sensationally quit Yamaha only weeks before the TT, had a brace of runner-up finishes in three races earlier in the week, including second in Saturday's TT Fl race. He had been struggling to cope with the notorious ill handling of the Norton but made some handling changes to the bike for Friday's Senior finale and came up with a winning setup. Other landmarks in TT history were. achieved during the week with Ulster's Joey Dunlop equalling Mike Hailwood's record of 14 TT wins when he beat brother Robert in a thrilling I 25cc TT. The rest of the solo races belonged to the Irish contingent with Castrol Honda's Phillip McCallen taking his first ever TT victories with wins in the IT Fl and Supersport 600cc races and Brian Reid winning the Junior TT and Supersport TT for Yamaha. But a week of scorching sunshine and triumphs were tarnished by tragedy - many would say a sad fact . of TT racing. Manfred Stengl, 46, died after crashing on the last lap of the TT Fl race at the 33rd Milestone. He was running last at the time of the crash. Hislop wins fastest-ever Senior TT By Gary Pinehin Photos by Nigel Kinrade ISLE OF MAN, ENGLAND, JUNE 2-12 teve Hislop sent 45,000 TT fans wild when he took his leased Norton rotary to victory in Friday's Senior TT in the fastest race ever seen on the 37.73 mile mountain course. Hislop's victory marked the first Senior TT win for Norton since Mike Hailwood's Norton victory in 1961, and the first Norton TT win since Peter Williams' F750 win of 1973. Even though Hislop averaged 121.28 mph for the .six lap race, Yamahamounted Carl Fogarty became the S 18 fastest man to· lap the TT course in t.he 85-year history of the event. He set a ·blistering 123.61 mph record on the last lap of the Senior TT but was beaten by Hislop by 4.4 seconds. Ironically, as the two riders, who ooth raced factory Honda RVF's last year anhe TT, received their garlands in the winner's enclosure; they revealed it was the last ~ime either would race on the island. "The crowd was tremendous on the last lap," said Hislop. "It's nice to have done it for Norton. But this is probably my last TT. If I ever do come back· it will only be for the Junior. That's the one race I'd still love to win. But I've had enough of the TT now. I've got nine TT wins which equals the record of Charlie Williams, my TT hero. "To be honest, I'm a bit older now and think more about the dangers involved racing here. I really do think the 750s are too quick for this place. If other riders are honest they will tell TT Formula One Only 47 starters lined up along Glencrutchery Road for the now traditional TT curtain raiser, the sixlap TT Formula One. For the first time in many years, there were no real prerace favorites. Hislop had clocked an impressive 121.38 flying lap in practice on Tuesday evening in his debut aboard the Norton. Having quit Yamaha only weeks before the TT, he had arranged to lease the works Norton, and team personnel, after securing backing from Abus, Shell, EBC and Michelin.The question mark over the outright lap record holder's chances centered on reliability of the rotary. Fogarty likewise had a last minute change of machinery. He had been down to race his Donington Superbike race-winning Ducati - complete with a factory motor, but opted instead to take up a: last-minute offer to ride the Yamaha. vacated by Hislop. "We have been struggling for cash all year in superbike," said Fogarty. "Yamaha offered a deal which included paying for everything. Their bike seemed fairly good all round for the TT, even if it lacks a little top speed. So I took the offer. At least it means my Ducati will not be worn out when we go to Spain for the superbike round the week afterl" He clocked a 120.05 mph lap in the

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