FEATURE I 2022 ISLE OF MAN TT: PART 1
P104
you're so focused on the
starting control panel to the
top right of your vision your
body almost goes numb.
Senior TT winner and
all-time lap record holder
Peter Hickman says there are
varying levels of understand-
ing with the TT that make it
genuinely hard to explain the
experience.
"Unless you've been here
and seen what the TT is all
about, I really don't think it's
describable. Words don't do
it justice," he said mere hours
after winning the 2022 Senior
TT. "If you've been here as a
spectator, you'll understand a
little bit; if you've ridden your
own bike around the track,
you'll get it a bit more, and
anyone lucky enough to have
done a closed-roads lap will
get a little bit more again.
"But if you've been one
of the few that's raced here,
those are the ones that truly
get it. That feeling is absolute-
ly unlike anything else I have
ever felt."
While there are many road
races across Northern Ireland
and mainland Europe in the
form of the International Road
Race Championship, the TT
remains the grandfather of
them all. It has become so
ingrained in the Isle of Man's
DNA that the place would be
(Above) Glenn Irwin is a BSB star
and now the fastest-ever rookie at 129.8
mph average. (Below) Brothers Tom
and Ben Birchall dominated a tragic
event for the sidecar contingent.
