Paul told me this was the first
time something like a handlebar
coming loose happened to his
team in its history, but it was still
a major knock to my confidence.
Milky Quale was a good help
in this moment.
"Things break here that don't
break anywhere else, mate,
don't let it get to you."
He was right. I couldn't let
that stuff play on my mind, but
each time I got on the bike, my
sponsor from Metzeler USA,
Oscar Solis and I, went over all
the fastening bolts just to make
sure.
THE TT SHOWS
ITS TEETH
We needed some good luck
after the last few days and day
four (three for me) started out
well. With two laps under my
belt, I was lying in 18th overall
and feeling quite chuffed with
myself, having knocked out a
114.56-mph run on lap two.
Earlier in that run, Mark
Purslow and his sky-blue Ya-
maha YZF-R6 passed me on the
Cronk-y-voddy straight, dragging
me into the daunting right hander
faster than I'd ever gone. His line
showed me the right way, the
faster way, but he was so quick he
was out of sight within five miles.
We crossed each other in the
pits as we both refueled and Mark
had trouble getting his bike turned
around. Thus, I leapfrogged him
on the road. Setting off for lap
three, I knew he was right behind
me, and I put my head down and
nailed my now beautifully handling
Suzuki as hard as I could to build
a gap to Mark.
Coming through Greeber
Castle and into Appledean, there
in front of me flashed the red
flag light. Looking behind me,
Mark was nowhere to be seen. I
thought he must have pulled off
after the Crosby Jump.
I pulled into Ballacraine along
with riders Paul Williams and Mark
Goodings and was told there was
an accident at Ballagarey—the
hair-raising near-top-speed right
hander Guy Martin made famous
by his fireball crash in 2010 that
he miraculously survived.
(Right) Two rookies,
one miles away from
the other. At least
Rennie was gracious
enough to have his
photo taken with the
fastest rookie ever
at the Isle of Man,
factory Honda rider,
Glenn Irwin.
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 28 JULY 12, 2022 P103
