Isle of Man TT Discussion

I've heard conversation coming out of animal pens that is more intelligent than what is going on in here.
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by TeamHavocRacing »

It all comes down to the government. In this case they're happy with their barbarism. People laid broken glass across the course in protest of the horrific 39mph top speeds reached in 1909. Survived. After the Mountain course was dropped from the GP calendar it wavered, but survived. Kids ride on uncontrolled streets like that often. Racing gets them off the streets(theoretically). It might even help reduce fatalities. See what I did there?
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

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jlv wrote:If there were multiple fatalities every supercross season?
I feel like every amateur season we lose a Masterpool or Grodzicki or it averages out that way. That never really seems to be addressed. I saw James Hillier wearing a Dainese D|Air suit in today's press conference for the RST Superbike race where he got 3rd, Conor Cummins got 2nd and Michael Dunlop won. Dan Kneen's brother Ryan wore Dan's helmet in his race today, soldiering on and racing anyway. This is why I love it. How the hell can you not? It's practically a Greek tragedy. I came so close to blubbering after watching this vid...
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by TeamHavocRacing »

If you use a VPN like Hola and tell it you're viewing from the UK, click on this link and allow Flash to run and then you can watch the TT live right now. https://www.itv.com/hub/itv4
jlv wrote:If it weren't for Havoc I'd have been arguing with the 12 year olds by myself.
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by TeamHavocRacing »

TeamHavocRacing wrote:...you can watch the TT live right now. https://www.itv.com/hub/itv4
Sorry. It's tape delayed by a couple hours. The local radio station is as live as we can get....https://www.manxradio.com/radioplayer/am/
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by jlv »

TeamHavocRacing wrote:
jlv wrote:If there were multiple fatalities every supercross season?
I feel like every amateur season we lose a Masterpool or Grodzicki or it averages out that way. That never really seems to be addressed. I saw James Hillier wearing a Dainese D|Air suit in today's press conference for the RST Superbike race where he got 3rd, Conor Cummins got 2nd and Michael Dunlop won. Dan Kneen's brother Ryan wore Dan's helmet in his race today, soldiering on and racing anyway. This is why I love it. How the hell can you not? It's practically a Greek tragedy. I came so close to blubbering after watching this vid...
You're comparing a decade of MX fatalities to the fatalities in a single event. I'm not one to make a big deal over a freak accident but when it happens every single time it's not an accident anymore.

Why do you love this race more than MotoGP? Would MotoGP be better if they lined the course with trees and light poles?
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

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jlv wrote:Would MotoGP be better if they lined the course with trees and light poles?
Or a forest a la 60s Hockenhiem
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

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jlv wrote:Why do you love this race more than MotoGP? Would MotoGP be better if they lined the course with trees and light poles?
I'm not sure Josh. I don't follow it like I used to. I've always hated the adding of chicanes and sanitization of certain forms of racing while totally agreeing with it in others. It's a huge conundrum that I guess I can't reconcile. I also assume you're certainly not as crazy as I am and can't fathom the fascination. You did race motocross, so you're part crazy. That much I do know. I had I hard time with Dan Kneen's death since I just started watching interviews with him the day before he died. However, before the night was through, I was able to go back to learning the TT course. An addict can't be reasoned with. Just ask the racers.
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by jlv »

Actually there was one time at Walden MX when they built up the finish jump and the only two riders to jump it in practice were the fastest 250A rider and some 125C goon. (That goon was me! I was like a rock star that day!) But while I might have been the first one to hit a new jump occasionally, I won't tolerate an unsafe track.

As an example, one time I went to a track built at a hillclimb. The track went up the hill but for the C and D riders they cut it off half way up with a ridiculously narrow path maybe 10 feet wide at the most. So on the first lap, there would be a traffic jam at the cutoff and riders looping out trying to get started from a standstill resulting in their bikes cartwheeling down the hill. It was a miracle no one was killed by a flying bike. I complained to the promoter and he told me I had to learn to ride it. (I actually got through it fine with a holeshot in one moto and a top five start in the other. The rest of the class wasn't so lucky.) I never went back even though it was the closest track to my house. (Compare that to Hurricane Hills where I complained to Tom Hurd about some minor issue and he fixed it immediately. It's a big difference when the promoter actually cares about the racers.)

So I guess you could say I'll take danger but not more than is necessary. A big jump is fine. A jump over an alligator pit is something for the circus. With the Isle of Man I'm starting to think the selling point is meaningless danger. I just read the Wikipedia page about it and I doubt the GP riders that boycotted it were pussies.
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by TeamHavocRacing »

jlv wrote:With the Isle of Man I'm starting to think the selling point is meaningless danger. I just read the Wikipedia page about it and I doubt the GP riders that boycotted it were pussies.
That is the key difference. Since it's a pretty ancient culture steeped in tradition handed down over the generations, they have a completely different view of what the danger poses and what it means to overcome it. If you have Netflix there's a great documentary about this culture called "Road". It's about the current TT King and his family, Joey Dunlop, his younger brother Robert and Roberts kids William and Michael. Once you get used to the Irish accents, you can see how stubborn the boys are about their passion. I love your moto stories! Anytime one comes to mind, feel free to share it. I just finished listening to Manx Radio TT and watching live timing on my phone to the Superstock TT and Peter Hickman set a lap record of 134 mph avg. Great way to catch the action as live as possible w/o TV coverage or being there!

https://www.netflix.com/title/80079364
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by TeamHavocRacing »

R.I.P. Adam Lyon, 26 of Helensburgh, Scotland. So it continues... :cry: https://www.iomtt.com/news/2018/06/04/s ... events-ltd
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by jlv »

This race is the equivalent of that local track with a broken watering system flooding one corner, blinding dust everywhere else and a bunch of blind jumps with no flaggers. Except somehow they've managed to turn being such a shit event that they were boycotted into a selling point. Look at us! We kill more riders than any other race! Most dangerous race on the planet!
TeamHavocRacing wrote:I love your moto stories! Anytime one comes to mind, feel free to share it.
Well, you asked for it. Apologies to everyone else! For that finish jump at Walden, you could tell immediately that it was going to be a huge advantage to clear. The layout was a corner, a small double, the finish table, then a really long straightaway. So clearing the tabletop meant you were at least a gear higher for something like 400 feet.

Now there was this guy I hated for no good reason. He always had a brand new cr125 and came to the track in a box truck painted up like he was a factory rider or something. On top of that he was pretty fast too. Actually, I guess the reason I didn't like him was pure envy. Anyway, in one of the motos I caught the factory novice at the corner before the finish line. We did the little double side by side, he pussed out on the finish jump while I cleared it and I tried to take advantage and put as much time on him down the straight and through the next corner as possible. I went down the one more straight and looked back to see how much I gapped him and he wasn't even in sight anymore! Must have put 100' on factory novice with one move!

That was such a great jump. Lots of air time, big lap time advantage and *safe*.
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by TeamHavocRacing »

Yes! Now we're rolling. How many trophies? Is Walden still there? Does it have a pond?
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by jlv »

Not too many trophies. At least not a room full like some people. Walden is still there but obviously much different from the 90's version.
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by TeamHavocRacing »

What a coincidence that Tony Alessi was talking about "Walton" in the PulpMx podcast from after Hangtown. Hadn't heard of it till you mentioned it. Please tell me that the water is named "Walden Pond" and that there's a "Henry David Thoreau Triple". If not, they're missing out on an opportunity for a totally obscure literary reference maybe one racer might get.
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Re: Isle of Man TT Discussion

Post by TeamHavocRacing »

Listening live to the Lightweight TT. Damn, it sure is suspenseful when someone is missing at a checkpoint and you're waiting to hear if they're "off" or "retired" especially knowing the high stakes.
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