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
With a good night's sleep un- der my belt, I was ready to rock for race one on Monday. Paul and Scott had the bike running great but going into a TT with an untested engine was a little off putting. Like my rookie lap, I wasn't even nervous. The start is so frantic that you barely have time to get nervous before your famous shoulder tap, and once I was underway, all I could do was ride as hard and as safely as I could and hope not to make any stupid mistakes. But by the end of the second lap, I'd been caught by Gary Vines, the rider who started directly behind me. I'd been too cautious on the first lap as I felt the engine and made sure every- thing was fine before being com- fortable enough to really send it, and Gary's CBR came roaring past coming into Schoolhouse Corner in the town of Ramsay. Here's where a characteristic of the TT shines through. I felt I was faster than Gary. I was quicker in qualifying, and my bike accelerated quicker than his, but the ultra-high speed na- ture of the track means it's damn near impossible to get away thanks to the slipstream. Gary and I thus played cat and mouse for two and a half laps, which gradually dragged both our average speeds down. The race had been shortened to three laps and coming into the 27th Milestone, there was once again devastation. Haybales blown out and yellow flags flying furiously, Gary and I slowed to a crawl and rode through onto the Mountain Mile, determined to put what we'd both just seen out of our minds. Coming into The Nook at the end of the lap, two corners to go, the red flag was flown. To be honest, I was surprised it took that long for the reds to come out given the devastation caused. Later that afternoon, it was confirmed Davy Morgan, a 20- year veteran of the Isle of Man with 20 TT starts, had lost his life. Morgan and his famous pink helmet were just in front of Gary and I, just out of sight, when it all went wrong. Davy's crash cast a large shadow over the race. The paddock was somber, and I have never been so happy to see my little boy Harvey on a Facetime call that afternoon, just to bring me back to center. It was a tough end to my first TT, but a reminder of what a knife edge this place can be. I was classi- fied as having finished 44th even though I did not cross the finish line, but it didn't matter. I just wanted a beer and to go back to the house for a quiet evening. RACE TIME, AGAIN. OR IS IT? Our second and final race was scheduled for Wednesday, June 8, but the Manx weather had other plans. Gradually dropping rain across the track, we were rescheduled for Thursday and a full four-lap race, so I went to bed early, got the best sleep I'd had in the two weeks and woke ready to give it absolute hell. The weather looked good, but within an hour of waking up, fog FEATURE I 2022 ISLE OF MAN TT: PART 2 P108 The day after. Rennie sharing a beer with lifetime friends Simon (center) and Rob as the TT comedown begins.