And it was nuts.
How on earth was this le-
gal? Not just legal, but actively
encouraged. I came over the
mountain from Hailwood Heights
to Windy Corner totally aware
of my own mortality, knowing if I
messed up here, it was the last
time I would ever do so.
But the fear was balanced by
unbridled exhilaration. I'd forgot-
ten about the Suzuki's electronic
problem. The bike was going
great. And I was living my oldest
dream of riding the TT course.
I came in and immediately gave
Milky a hug. If someone had turned
my lights out for good right there
and then, I'd have died a happy
man. The pure, uncut adrenalin,
I'd never felt anything like it. It was
needle-in-the-arm stuff.
Before I could ask Paul about
what he planned to do regarding
the Suzuki's electrical problem, he
told me he was going to replace
the whole wiring loom and the
switch block for Monday night.
Milky a hug. If someone had turned
the Suzuki's electrical problem, he
And true to his word, the Su-
zuki was beautiful for what turned
out to be my first real night of
practice. I went to 109.9 mph
average for the second lap—my
first flying lap of the track—but the
session was cut short when Sam
West lost control of his BMW
through the Laurel Bank section
of the course, his cartwheeling
bike splitting its fuel tank and ex-
ploding into flames and incinerat-
ing part of the hedge.
I was stopped at Parliament
Square in Ramsay after two and
a half laps, which was almost
welcome as my shoulders felt
like they'd done six rounds with a
heavyweight UFC fighter.
I was told my upper body
would take a beating at the TT,
much more than in regular rac-
ing, but I could hardly believe just
how sore the muscles around the
front of my shoulders and those
on my neck were. I could barely
lift my left arm. How was I going
to do a full four-lapper?
(Above) Rennie with
rookie liaison officer,
Johnny Barton, a man
who was instrumental
in helping Rennie
learn the 37-mile
course. (Above right)
Battle stations. In less
than a minute you'll
be going 160 mph
between the houses
and down Bray Hill.
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 28 JULY 12, 2022 P101
