The TT course really lets you know just how
good you are—or aren't. Former 250 GP star
Jamie Robinson once told me a story about
getting completely blown away by a rider near
twice his size because the TT course is all about
carrying as much speed as possible out of the
corner for the next long straight.
Speed multiplication has never been more
apparent to me than it is at the TT—a rider going
five miles per hour faster on the exit of the corner
will have gained seconds on you by the time you
reach the end of a two-mile straight. It's a demor-
alizing feeling being on the wrong side of that
equation and a beautiful one if on the right side.
But the big thing you need to get used to is
the sheer, brain-melting speed. I calculated
that my winning average speed at Pikes Peak
in 2019 was 58 mph. By the fourth night of
practice at the TT, I'd doubled that to 117 mph,
and I was still not even in the top 20. The
chronic speed means your brain's synapses
are firing harder than ever—from Union Mills to
Greeber Castle, you only roll slightly for Bal-
lagarey, but the rest is absolutely flat out. That
section is nearly five miles long and you're
hardly ever going straight. No wonder my eyes
felt like they were going to pop out of my head
each night.
FEATURE I 2022 ISLE OF MAN TT: PART 1
P108
Michael Dunlop
launches his
Yamaha through
the Union Mills
section.
