L A P of I O M

With that time of the year almost upon us once again I thought I would recreate a lap of the greatest racing circuit in the world

Leave the start line and approach Bray Hill. Very, very fast section indeed providing it's taken correctly. It's a very spectacular section to spectate on, especially in the dip at the bottom. As we come down the hill there's two road junctions and the way the road's been formed, although it's not really visible, there's quite a hump on each of the two and when you're doing speeds in excess of 130 miles an hour, which you are doing down here, the bike tends to take off on both of these and become very light.

Down into the bottom it's still flat out, I'm talking about a 350 now - on a 750 I don't suppose it would be flat out. But certainly on a 350 you just hold A flat out all he way using every inch of the road, really lining yourself up very carefully for it, going over to the apex of the corner, just clipping the kerb, missing the grid, so you go between he kerb and the grid at he bottom. If you hit the grid it tends to put you in a bit of a wobble, so it's essential to go close to the kerb - and then away up the other side.

The biggest problem I find personally with Bray Hill is that you've got a steep incline up the other side and then all of a sudden it levels out and taking that jump at the top, which is a big jump, you've got to be very careful because the bike comes up all ways and it's not so much taking off, it's when you're landing you can get into all sorts of trouble. I find that I take it on the right hand side of he road, but that's just a personal thing. But certainly a very good place to watch, very spectacular and I think it sorts the men out from the boys really.

Very, very similar in many ways to Governor's Bridge. The approach is very similar; downhill, very fast approach and a very tight corner, a hairpin almost. It's not quite as bad as Governors, but very tight - a first gear job. On the approach, as I said about Bray Hill, there's a road junction on the left hand side which gives you another hump in the road and just before you hit the brakes you take off on this hump. I always judge my braking by as soon as I've gone over the hump and the bike's landed back on the road again, brake like hell and you can just about stop for Quarter Bridge.

No particular line round there, just holding it quite tight in - peeling in quite late really it's a bit deceptive - coming out quite wide. Almost into the road junction along the side of the hotel. Speed is about 30 mph at the slowest point. And as I said it's first gear. In the Isle of Man, with there being so many fast sections you pull a very high gearing. Even your first gear is very high, most probably capable of about 60 mph.

BRADDAN BRIDGE

Another fast approach from Quarter Bridge. I think it's a fourth gear approach. Changing down into second for the S-bend at Braddan. A nice corner, no big problems with it really. The cambers are good, the camber on the exit's very good, which is an important factor. The only problem to look out for is coming round the left-hand bend not to get too far over to the right hand side of the road prior to negotiating the right hander.

In other words, stay over more or less in the middle of the road by the white line. So you come round the left hander, stay on the white line and then dive in for the kerb on the right hand side and that usually brings you back across just at the end of that wall where the road junction is before the church. You want to end up about a foot or 18 inches away from the wall. Some riders do use that bit of slip road, but I don't think that's called for at all. I think you'd make a mistake if you did that.

BALLACRAINE

Just a straightforward piece of road really. Perhaps one of the more popular places on the circuit with plenty of access roads. From a rider's point of view it's quite a slow corner comparatively. Second gear, changing down from top gear. The only point to look out for is the exit because you've got this big stone wall on the exit and it's quite easy to overdo things a little bit and get too close to the wall.

GLEN HELEN

The Glen Helen section is a series of about three bends. First of ail round the left hander, taken in third gear, then over the bridge, tucking yourself right into the wall on the right hand side of the road down into second gear for he main pan of Glen Helen which is a left hand, upward sweep. The left hander is quite a deceptive corner and the peel-off point is later than one would imagine.

Uphill out of the corner, once again being careful not to go too far to the right hand side of the road, and getting on the adverse camber and then accelerating away up to Sarah's Cottage.

BARREGARROW

What I think is possibly the fastest section of the course is between Handley's Corner and the top of Barregarrow. Barregarrow is a very, very fast corner indeed. Just one corner, a left hander, which, when you're half way round it starts to go quite steeply downhill. Flat out as far as I'm concerned on a 350. I would estimate the speed to be about 140 mph, because it's certainly pulling peak revs in top gear. A very exciting corner for spectators, I broke down here in 1977 in the 500 race and watched Read and Tom Herron through here and it's a truly spectacular place. Very good for spectators because there's good access roads both on the inside and the outside of the circuit.

It's possible from the top of Barregarrow to walk down to the next section, which is the bottom of Barregarrow; this time a left hand bend, with a very fast downhill approach. Very popular for spectators indeed - sometimes a little too popular because the spectators I feel, tend to get a bit close to the edge of the circuit, which is a little bit dangerous.

There's a bad bump in the middle of the corner right at the bottom, which tends to throw you all awry, but again like the top of Barregarrow, it's flat out with speed in excess of 140 mph. There's a long bank on the outside that you can sit on, but as I said before, I think people really tend to get a little too close and I often shudder to think what would happen if there was an accident there.

KIRK MICHAEL

The first bend in the Kirk Michael is a right hander, which attracts the most spectators. Down into second gear for the right hander. A lot of spectators tend to get in the gardens of the Mitre Hotel, which is on the right hand side. Kirk Michael is a very, very fast section indeed with flowing corners and, apart from the first right hander, flat out from start to finish, before going off away into Rhencullen.

BALLAUGH BRIDGE

Very fast approach to Ballaugh Bridge, changing down the gearbox all the time, starting to brake just prior to the filling station on the left hand side on the approach. Right down into either first or second gear - some people have different ideas about Ballaugh Bridge. The secret of Ballaugh Bridge is to roll up the slope onto the apex of the bridge and just before you get onto the bridge, to quickly open the throttle and give a little pull on the handle bars. Just pulling the front wheel into the air to ensure a rear wheel landing, which is far better than a front wheel because it means you can transmit the power and get away quite safely.

Turning in is a bit of a controversial point. I've followed a lot of people into Ballaugh and I must admit that I seem to take quite a unique line. Lots of people come in very, very late and run up the right hand side of the road and take the corner. I don't; I run up the right hand side of the road and then turn sharply across and make a straight line of the bridge so I make a straight point from virtually that telegraph pole over to the corner of the pub. It means that you can take off and land straight.

Of course, the part you've got to watch then is as soon as you've landed you've got to be pretty sharp and crank it over to the right because you've got quite a right hander where the road disappears after the pub. That tightens up quite a lot and you've got to make sure you have the bike in the right position in the road and also crank it over very quickly, to negotiate the right hander. You need to go about three or four feet from the pub - maybe a little closer than that - and then just let the bike deft out a little bit for the left that follows.

SULBY BRIDGE AND GINGER HALL

Quite a straightforward right hander, Sulby Bridge is a very popular corner from the spectators' point of view. Down into first gear from top gear. Good access from the coast road makes it a very popular corner. Ginger Hall is also a very popular spectator point. It's quite a fast left hander. I think it's third gear or possibly second, but quite a fast corner.

RAMSEY

After taking School House A third gear you accelerate away towards Parliament Square, back up into fourth, then fifth gear and then changing right down into first gear for Parliament Square, which of course is quite a popular place for spectators because of the access and the amenities there.

You approach right over into the left hand gutter. It doesn't really make a lot of difference how you take the right hander, the first corner, but it's better if you can stay over to the right hand side of the road. Not crossing the white line by a great deal, and then it gives you a good line through the left hander to accelerate quite fast up towards May Hill.

I always find it quite a tricky place, quite dodgy, because it's slow, but it's the sort of place that can catch you out quite easily. I think there's been quite a few accidents here. Like a lot of places in the Isle of Man that are slow, you tend to get lulled with a false sense of security, because you've been batting along at 130, 140 miles an hour and because you've suddenly slowed down to 30 or 40 miles an hour you think it's impossible to fail off. I think this is what catches a lot of riders out. A lot of people fall off accelerating out round the left hander, by getting in the gutter, where there's adverse camber and accelerating too hard and losing the back end.

Directly after Parliament Square, we come out of Ramsey up May Hill. There's quite a sweeping right hand bend on the approach to May Hill, but one thing very characteristic about this corner is the fact that your peeling off point must be left very, very late indeed. I think they've had quite a Quite a lot of accidents at May Hill due to the fact that riders tend to peel in too early and when they get on the exit of the corner, they find themselves in problems because there's a stone wall and they tend to run out of road and run into this wall.

You accelerate out of Parliament Square through first, second and third and then back down into second gear for May Hill, and then out of the right hander and carry on up the hill into the left hander, which is known as Whitegates, which again is a second gear corner. From Whitegates it's on up to Stella Maris which is just prior to Ramsey Hairpin.

RAMSEY HAIRPIN

Very popular with spectators and one of the major points on the Isle of Man circuit. It's different to anything else you ever get on a short circuit. A very long hairpin, steep, uphill, first gear of course, slipping the clutch coming out using every available piece of road. Very tight in on the apex and running out to the grass bank on the right hand side on the exit. About 80 or 90 mph on the approach to Ramsey Hairpin, so obviously there's a need for some quite heavy braking.

GOOSENECK

From Waterworks you climb up through some very fast, sweeping corners, up to the Gooseneck. This always has a good attendance of spectators because the access is very good from Ramsey Coast road and also because a lot of the circuit can be seen from The Gooseneck, back to the Waterworks; the riders can be seen for about a mile.

The Gooseneck is a very slow tight hairpin bend, travelling steeply uphill. First gear, it's possible to get through without slipping the clutch in first gear if the line's correct and the speed's enough. I personally use it for one of my signalling points, as do quite a few riders, because it's got a reasonably slow exit and it's possible to read signals from here quite easily.

THE BUNGALOW

The Bungalow is the highest point on the circuit just at the base of Snaefell and this is the final commentary point for Manx Radio. It's a reasonably fast right and left hand S-bend going over the Manx Electric Railway, which leads up from Laxey. A good point for spectators in so much as it's accessible by the railway and also accessible from Sulby Glen and Tholt y Will. Also spectators can walk back maybe half a mile to the Bungalow Bridge which is also a very good point in that the corner itself is good and riders can be seen coming from The Verandah, which is also another popular part of the circuit.

On approaching The Bungalow there's a sequence of three right hand bends, so you find yourself in third gear, down into second and through both the left hander and the right hander in second gear. Making sure not to go too far across the road coning round the left hander and leaving yourself plenty of room to negotiate the right hander, before accelerating away up to Brandywell.

CREG-NY-BAA

In between Kate's Cottage and Creg-ny-Baa there's quite a sudden drop. On a faster bike you tend to get quite a wheelie. Having come down from Kate's Cottage, Creg-ny-Baa is a second gear, right hander with a very fast downhill approach. Very, very popular with the fans because of the spectator facilities. There are grandstands here and it's also very accessible from the coast road and has good parking facilities.

Creg-ny-Baa is very similar to some of the corners on short circuits. It's very smooth and a nice sweeping bend. The problem of Creg-ny-Baa from a rider's point of view, is that although the circuit may be dry in many other places there's always a tendency for water to run across the track at the Creg, which can be quite dangerous especially when it catches you unawares as it often does on the first lap of any race.

GOVERNOR'S BRIDGE

Possibly the corner on the circuit that takes the most braking because you've got to come down to such a slow speed, almost walking pace, on he actual apex of he hairpin. Also it's quite a steep downhill approach and reasonably fast as well. I reckon a corner to be taken with a lot of care really. Not so much the first hairpin, but round the back it's very slippery and there's very bad adverse camber if you run off the centre of the road. And on the exit, when you go back out onto the Glencrutchery Road, there's also a very bad adverse camber there, so all in all it's a section to be very cautious.

It looks rough, but in actual fact it's not very bumpy. From my point of view this is a good surface for the Isle of Man because it's good in all conditions. Round he hairpin itself there's pretty well only one line, which is tight to the inside, maybe about two feet out from the kerb, and then not coming out too wide on the exit because you mess yourself up on the left hander at the bottom of the hill. So most probably coming out about in the middle of the road, and then lining yourself up going slightly over to the right hand side to get round the left.

SPECTATING

As far as my own personal choice of corners goes to spectate, I think some of the faster ones are possibly the best. Also what you've got to bear in mind when you're trying to choose a good spectator point is accessibility. Can you move from that point and go to another point or not? Because racing can get very monotonous if you've got to sit in one place for three or four hours (Vehicles are not allowed on or across the track between races).

But I would recommend both the top and bottom of Barregarrow; if you drive to the top of Barregarrow you can walk down to the bottom and watch in two places and that's very exciting. Hillberry's another good place - especially so because it's very handy for Douglas; Signpost Corner - also handy for Douglas which might appeal to the people that are coming over for the day on day trips and haven't got the time to go out on the course. So for those people I would recommend Signpost Corner, Hillberry, Quarter Bridge and Braddan and course the bottom of Bray Hill is a handy place to watch if you haven't got a lot of time.

The magic of the Isle of Man is greatly due to the fact that many of the corners are so, so fast - a lot faster than anything we see on short circuits. So from my point of view, I would say for the spectator that it's something that happens once a year so they should enjoy the speed of these corners and get out to the faster parts of the course, to witness racing that is truly unique.

Enjoy yourselves.