T
he approach to the Crosby
jump is one of the fast-
est of the Isle of Man TT
Mountain Course. At over 150
mph, it's fair to say it's one of
the fastest jumps in any form of
sport, let alone motorsport.
After a poor performance in
Wednesday night's qualifying
the Wilson Craig Honda team
and I have gone through the
Honda CBR1000RR SP2 from
top to bottom. With its totally
rebuilt K-Tech shock and forks
and now much shorter gearing,
the red number 57 is handling
superbly as I try desperately to
coax some much-needed speed
out of it. I'm acutely aware the
lap times I have so far won't do.
I grip the tank, roll the throttle
slightly, get set for take-off,
clear the Crosby jump and get
hard on the throttle. I'm now rap
-
idly on my way to the entrance
of Greeber Castle.
I shift the Honda back to
fourth gear with the revs high at
around 110 mph and peel into
the approaching left.
Then, it happens.
The Honda suddenly drops
into the void between fourth and
third gear. The engine brake I'm
relying on as much as the brakes
themselves disappears and the
once screaming CBR silently
accelerates in exactly the place I
don't want it to.
About 50 meters up the road,
a marshal rushes out onto the
racetrack with his yellow flag
waving, convinced I'm about
to impale myself into the white
house on the outside of the first
of two left handers.
FEATURE I 2023 ISLE OF MAN TT: PART 1
P76
Early days on the Wilson
Craig Honda as Rennie
rides through Gorse Lea.
Rennie and the team
missed night one but
pressed on during day two.
RENNIE RETURNS TO THE ISLE
AND THIS TIME JUMPS FIRMLY
WITH THE 1000cc BOYS. IT'S
WEEKS HE'LL NEVER, EVER FORGET
