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/1472935
FEATURE I 2022 ISLE OF MAN TT: PART 2 P110 had coated the mountain and we were, once again, informed we wouldn't be racing that day and were rescheduled again, this time for Friday and a two-lap race. It was at this point something rather interesting happened. Coming back into the pits at about 11:00 am, I thought I'd go see the team, just to say 'hi,' as I was sure they'd be as down as I was we weren't racing. So, you can imagine my surprise when I arrived and my gear was on the grass, the awning taken down, and the bike strapped down in the truck. As it turns out, my team boss, Paul, had an operation sched- uled for Friday back in the UK, and he wasn't going to miss it, regardless of the fact we still had one more race to do. I will spare you the details of the language used—there was no way in hell I was not go- ing to take part in that second race—and after a bit of back and forth, I told him I'd run the bike myself. I'd run bikes all over the world before, the bike had a new rear tire and full tank of fuel and as it was a sprint race with no pit stop, there was no reason I couldn't do it here. Paul eventually agreed and got the bike out, and gave me the generator, fuel and a small assortment of tools to run the bike. As I watched him pack the PRF complex up, I couldn't believe my eyes. But thanks to Oscar Solis and fellow TT rider Shaun Anderson, I had some shelter to put the bike and my gear, and we were good to go. Scott from PRF also came back to help us get the bike through tech inspection and run it the next day, which was gracious of him given the circumstances. RACE TIME. AGAIN. FOR REAL My second TT came and went in a blur. Being only a two-lap race with no pit stops, it was effec- tively a sprint race. The wind was incredible across the Mountain, and it was impossible to get sixth gear without a slipstream, which I got on lap two after Spaniard Raul Torras and his Yamaha came by at Ramsay Hairpin. Following him out of the Creg- ny-Baa right-hander on the last lap and through the glorious, fifth-gear left-hand sweeper of Brandish right behind Torras, I yelled at myself, "Remember this! Remember this!" Perhaps it was a little dramatic, but I will always remember those last five miles or so of the TT course. I came out of the trees onto Glencrutchery Road and pinned the Suzuki for one final time. Although it was just a sprint race, to see the checkered flag at the Isle of Man TT was the realiza- tion of a dream I've had since my earliest memories. I'd done it. I'd completed a TT race. No red flags, no accidents, no problems with the bike. It was done. The relief I felt in that moment was indescribable. Although I missed a bronze replica trophy by just 12 seconds, I improved to 37th and came away happy with that, given the two weeks we'd had. But the best thing, the thing no one can now ever take away from me, is I can legitimately say I made the oldest dream I've ever had come true. I can call myself an Isle of Man TT racer. CN Rennie's Isle of Man TT Diary Videos