Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix

1. Success in the Ayre for RC Express Racing

   Posted on 3:00pm Saturday 26th Nov 2016

   RC Express Racing has announced today at the NEC Motorcycle Show that Liverpool Football Club Chief Executive Ian Ayre will be joining the team in a non-executive role.
   
   Road racing fan Ayre will act as ‘Sporting Chairman’ for the Bristol based team, helping to raise the profile of the operation and the sport of motorcycle road racing. With his extensive commercial experience working across major sporting global brands, it is considered that Ayre will offer significant guidance for the team.
   
   Ayre was recently honoured by his peers, taking the accolade of ‘Chief Executive of the Year’ in recognition for his achievements within football and most notably with the Anfield based team. In his time at Liverpool Football Club, Ayre has been instrumental in raising the global profile of the club, particularly within the emerging powerhouse economies of Asia, as well as attracting investment and securing one of the most lucrative shirt sponsorship deals in football with Standard Chartered Bank.
   
   A passionate and lifelong supporter of Liverpool Football Club, away from the terraces, Ayre is equally comfortable on the grass banks and hedge rows of events such as the Isle of Man TT and Ulster Grand Prix.
   
   “I have always shared my love for football with that of two wheels” commented the newly appointed Sporting Chairman. “Road racing is extremely special and unique sport. It is something that I have followed for many years, regularly heading to the Isle of Man TT with friends on our bikes.” 
   
   Talking further on his association with RC Express, Ayre explained how the appointment to the team became apparent. “I’ve been involved in road racing as a fan for many years so when Ben and Roy explained their vision and after seeing their operation up close I offered to help in a non-executive role. The team have experienced immense success in a short period of time and I feel that they could go on to become the leading team in the road racing paddock. Working with them in a non executive capacity will enable me to help and advise them where appropriate. It is certainly exciting for me personally and something that I am extremely passionate about. There is a tremendous future ahead for RC Express Racing and I’m thrilled to be part of the project, working with Ben, Roy and the rest of the team.”
   
   Speaking on the announcements for the team, Ben Constable confirmed that RC Express was now beginning a new chapter in the team’s history. “This is certainly a very exciting time for everyone involved in the team”, commented the joint owner. “Attracting someone with Ian’s experience in sport to our Bristol based racing team, is something we could never have envisaged. Dad and I knew that Ian was an avid road racing fan, keen biker and highly successful businessman. Our aim was to simply engage in some dialogue, enable Ian to join the team at a race and perhaps seek some advice on how we build and progress for the future. We are excited that Ian is joining us in a non-executive role and will be a huge boost for the team.
    
   “His success speaks for itself and Ian has developed Liverpool Football Club into a global commercial entity that rivals teams such as Manchester United and Barcelona. This experience, coupled with his significant knowledge of working with leading international brands can only assist RC Express Racing in our future goals and ambitions. Football and motorcycle racing are two very different sports. From our discussions with Ian, it was very clear that the financial scales between each discipline are significant, but fundamentally the principals remain the same. 
    
   “With increased global awareness for events such as the TT, rider profiles now gaining wider public awareness outside the sport and the appeal for brand association from leading businesses, there has never been a greater time to experience growth. Both sports do face similar challenges in terms of attracting investment, ensuring rider and player value is fully maximised, as well as targeting wider communities for fans through direct engagement. Ian has experience in this area and if he can bring even a small element of his knowledge to the sport of motorcycle racing, it can only be of benefit to everyone involved. The entire team is really looking forward to working with Ian and we would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his interest in our race team,” stated Constable.

   

2. Tyco BMW target PokerStars Senior TT win in 2017 with Ian Hutchinson

   Posted on 1:00pm Saturday 26th Nov 2016

   14-time Isle of Man TT winner Ian Hutchinson, who also became the World’s Fastest Road Racer during 2016 with a phenomenal lap of 134.089mph during August’s Ulster Grand Prix, has agreed terms to stay with the Northern Ireland based Tyco BMW team for the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy and the other international road races.
   
   Hutchinson, who took Superstock wins at all three major International Road Races with Tyco BMW including the RL360 Quantum Superstock at the TT Races, and a double in the Superbike class at the Ulster Grand Prix, will also contest next season’s British Superstock Championship. The Bingley rider finished second in the series this season with Tyco BMW.
   
   Speaking of his extended deal, Hutchinson said:
   “I’m glad to have finally sorted a deal to stay with Tyco BMW for a second season. Looking back we had a very good run in 2016 with wins at all the International Road Races.  Having now worked together for a season, we know where we need to improve with the obvious goal, to go on now and challenge for the Superbike wins at all of the big three internationals.”
   
   “The BMW S1000RR still has so much potential in Superbike trim on the roads and with another season of British Superstock planned, the aim there will be to go one step better and win the championship next season.”
   
   Team owner Hector Neill said:
   “Hutchy did a great job for us this season and whether it was in British championship or the roads, he was always in contentions for wins and podiums and provided both our sponsors and fans with a lot of entertainment.”
   
   “His international hat-trick in the Superstock class and his terrific season in British Superstock proved how well he got on with the Tyco BMW, and to go on and take the world’s fastest track lap record at Dundrod was the icing on the cake.”
   
   “The goal going forward is to build on that success and I’ve never hidden the fact that the Senior TT trophy is the one we really want to win in 2017. It’s the blue-riband road race on the season’s calendar, and along with Hutchy and our dedicated team we will be giving it our very best shot.”

3. William Dunlop to spearhead Halsall roads campaign

   Posted on 2:00pm Friday 25th Nov 2016

   Halsall Racing today confirmed that the team will contest the 2017 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy and other international road circuits with Ballymoney rider William Dunlop.  The announcement ends significant speculation on the future direction that the team would take following their recent decision to vacate the British Superbike paddock.
   
   Team owner Halsall has been a long-standing passionate and loyal supporter of road racing.  A regular attendee at the Isle of Man, the Lancashire based entrepreneur has always been open about his desire to one day compete with the team across the International circuits.  
   
   “This has certainly been a personal ambition of mine to make a move towards this discipline of the sport”, stated Halsall.  “Road racing is a truly unique experience, with so much passion and energy.  There has never been a better time to take this step and I am really excited about the prospects ahead.”
   
   Halsall and Dunlop had initially examined options for a partnership back in 2013.  “It’s true that we had explored possibilities previously, but the timing was not right.  If I cannot give one hundred percent to a project, I won’t do it.  It’s that simple.  We’ve continually maintained dialogue with a view towards potentially working together in the future.  Now is the time and I can give William my full attention for our roads campaign in 2017.”
   
   Halsall arrives on the roads with vast experience and professionalism has been gleaned from years of running a team in the domestic short circuit series.  The owner certainly has the knowledge to deliver a leading package and remains highly confident about the task ahead.
   
   “This will be a challenge for sure, but I am optimistic about our potential prospects,” stated the owner.  “With our proven ability to operate a leading race team, coupled with William’s extensive roads knowledge, we can make this very successful.  I know how to build a team and we will be recruiting key individuals with unparalleled experience in road racing to ensure that our package is the best.  Our focus and attention will be on William and on him alone.  He will have the right infrastructure around him and it will be dedicated to ensuring he has everything he needs to be successful."
   
   No details have been provided on the machinery that the team will be running with a further announcement expected in January.  However it is understood that both Halsall and Dunlop are considering a ‘variety of options’.
   
   “With no ties to any one manufacturer, this offers the flexibility for us as a privateer team to select the right tools for the job and choose the most suitable bikes for each discipline.  Bikes that William feels can give him the best opportunity across each of the classes.  He will have whatever he needs for Superbike, Superstock and Supersport.  We are being guided by his experience and choice of manufacturer.  Our aim is to confirm this fully in the coming weeks and months.” added Halsall.
   
   Having finalised an agreement with Halsall Racing earlier this week, thirty-one year old Dunlop outlined how the opportunity with the Lancashire based team was certainly worth the wait.
   
   “Martin runs a very strong team and you only have to look at what he has done and achieved on the short circuits to see that he ensures everything is done in the correct way.  It’s sleek, professional and highly driven. To have the team dedicated to me alone, will certainly raise my game. It’s the ride that I have been seeking and it’s been worth the wait to finally get this agreement in place.  We’ll be learning a great deal along the way, but I’m confident we can deliver some success in 2017 and I can’t wait to get started. This is also an opportunity for me to express my thanks to the loyal supporters and sponsors that have backed me in 2016 and have been extremely positive about the move to Halsall Racing.  I’d like to thank everyone for their continued support”, stated the Ballymoney rider.
   
   The team will begin an extensive programme of Spanish and UK testing during the early part of the New Year.  “Time on the bike is so important ahead of the new season”, commented Dunlop.  “It worked this season as we saw, particularly on the Superbike at the TT for riders that had the preparation before the start of the roads season.  I was not as sharp at the start of 2016 because I had very limited time on the bike in those opening months.  By the time we arrived at Portrush, that deficiency was very clear for me.  It really set the tone for my season and I don’t want to be in that position next year.  Our plan with Halsall Racing is to ensure that I am in the best form by the time we arrive for the North West 200”, concluded Dunlop.
   
   The main focus for the team will be the three main International road races, but owner Halsall also indicated that further to discussion with the rider, a number of Irish road events ‘may be considered’ as part of the 2017 schedule, but emphasised that the full programme of events would be released in the New Year.  

4. Ian Hutchinson and Michael Dunlop set to renew their rivalry at 2017 motorcycle festival

   Posted on 11:00am Wednesday 23rd Nov 2016

   The schedule for the Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy will remain unchanged for the 2017 edition of the worlds most famous motorcycle race.

   The 2016 event saw records tumble as the fierce rivalry between Englishman Ian Hutchinson and Northern Ireland’s Michael Dunlop saw the pair dominate proceedings, taking five race wins between them, with the outright lap record for the infamous 37 and ¾ mile long Mountain Course being obliterated in the process by both riders.

   The Isle of Man’s population will swell by over 50% for two weeks again next June with an ever increasing number of motorcycle racing enthusiasts from all corners of the world expected to converge on the small Island in the middle of the Irish Sea to see Hutchinson and Dunlop continue their epic battle for TT supremacy.

   However, with a host of former winners and up and coming hopefuls also expected to feature on the entry lists, they will not have it all their own way, with veteran campaigners John McGuinness and Bruce Anstey who have 23 and 11 wins to their names respectively, leading the charge against their younger rivals.

   British Superbike Championship star Peter Hickman is just one of those looking to open his account in 2017. Still the fastest ever TT Newcomer, Hickman has built up his knowledge and experience over the past three years and is ready to fight for the coveted ‘Mercury’ trophies. Meanwhile, having recorded three podium finishes apiece during 2016, Dean Harrison and James Hillier will be serious threats in all classes.

   Other star names in the mix include local favourites Conor Cummins and Dan Kneen, Australian challengers David Johnson, Cameron Donald and the returning Josh Brookes, Irishmen Lee Johnston and William Dunlop, two-time TT winner Gary Johnson, veteran campaigner Michael Rutter and Lightweight ace Ivan Lintin.

   TT 2017 commences with a week of qualifying getting underway on Saturday 27th May. The race schedule will open with the RST Superbike TT Race on Saturday 3rd June and anticipation will be high following Michael Dunlop’s blistering sub-17 minute lap posted in last year’s corresponding race.

   The opening race day schedule also sees the first of two Sure Sidecar TT Races with brothers Ben and Tom Birchall the team to beat having broken the outright lap record for sidecars. Five more recent race winners are expected to line up against the Birchall brothers with seventeen time TT winner Dave Molyneux, last year’s Sidecar Champion John Holden, multiple World Sidecar Champion Tim Reeves and the irrepressible Conrad Harrison all expected to feature at the front of the race.

   Monday 5th June features the now traditional double solo race day, starting with the Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1 followed by the RL360 Quantum Superstock TT Race. The Monday schedule holds good memories for Ian Hutchinson with the Bingley Bullet twice emerging victorious from last year’s competitive line up.

   A packed day’s entertainment on Wednesday’s 7th June gets underway with the second Monster Energy Supersport TT Race, followed by the Bennetts Lightweight TT Race and concluding with the high tech, high spec, SES TT Zero Race for zero emissions machines.

   TT 2017 will culminate with the ‘Championship Day’ on Friday 9th June, which sees the outright solo and sidecar champions crowned. The action gets underway with the second Sure Sidecar TT Race, followed by the traditional finale; the PokerStars Senior TT Race.

   Last year’s dramatic climax lived up to expectations as a huge trackside audience saw the Birchall brothers take the sidecar race honours and firmly establish themselves as the crew to beat in 2017. Meanwhile, that man Michael Dunlop again turned on the style in the PokerStars Senior TT, destroying the field and posting new lap and race records in the process.

   It was a truly spectacular end to a spectacular meeting. No wonder Murray Walker OBE describes the TT as the ‘greatest motor-sporting event in the world’. The Isle of Man TT sees fans line the 37¾ mile closed public road circuit looking for their own unique vantage point to watch the thrilling spectacle. Excitement, glory, disappointment; the TT has it all. For fans of motorsport in its purest form, the Isle of Man is the only place to be in 2017.

   And there’s no better time to immerse in everything TT. With travel and accommodation options, brand new grandstand seating, a choice of special events to attend and VIP hospitality available every race day, fans can build their own TT experience, bringing them ever closer to the action and closer to their heroes.

   Places for the most exhilarating motorsport event in the world are available to book at iomtt.com

5. 60-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST TT 100MPH LAP TO BE CELEBRATED AT 2017 CLASSIC TT PRESENTED BY BENNETTS

   Posted on 11:00am Monday 21st Nov 2016

   The 60th anniversary of the first 100mph lap of the iconic TT Mountain Course, one of the most historic moments in the Isle of Man TT Races history, will be celebrated at next year’s Classic TT presented by Bennetts, with the achievement providing the platform for a weekend of motorcycling themed nostalgic entertainment.

   On Saturday 26th August, the clock will be turned back to the time when Scotsman Bob McIntyre made history, recording the first 100mph lap of the 37¾ mile TT Course on his way to victory in the 1957 Senior TT Race.
   
   Appropriately Michael Dunlop, fresh from the first sub 17-minute lap at this year’s TT, which he improved to a remarkable 133.962mph later in the week, will pay tribute to McIntyre’s achievement with a celebration lap, complete with replica kit and on board an identical dustbin faired Gilera which has been meticulously recreated by Kay Engineering.
   
   The tribute lap is set to be the highlight of a packed weekend of entertainment with a heady mix of Castrol induced nostalgia, ear-splitting noise and breath-taking racing, coupled with a packed programme of special events, retro entertainment and classic tunes.

   After a week of qualifying which gets underway on Saturday 19th August, concluding on Friday 25th after the Classic TT Paddock Carnival, the race action kicks off with the curtain raiser – the Bennetts Senior Classic TT - on Saturday 26th August. The corresponding race last year memorably not only saw John McGuinness break his Classic TT hoodoo after four years but also saw Maria Costello MBE joining him on the podium in third place.

   Saturday’s Race programme concludes with the distinctive sound of the 250cc Lightweight machines as they take to the Mountain Course again in earnest.  Last year’s race was dominated by Bruce Anstey and the New Zealander will undoubtedly be the man to beat again, although a number of rivals are expected to emerge in the coming months following the interest that 2016’s inaugural race generated. Saturday’s schedule will also feature a stunning parade of pre-1975 vintage machines.

   Racing rivalries will then be put aside on Saturday evening as the riders mingle with fans at the Classic TT Party. Held in the VIP Hospitality Suite at the TT Grandstand, this year’s event will be all about vintage tea dresses, swing skirts, classic suits and nerd glasses, as the calendar goes back to the 1950s and celebrates the era of Bob Mac. Back by popular demand, the Blue Jays will be providing an authentic soundtrack guaranteed to have fans beating a path to the dance floor, playing all the hits from Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and many more.

   Sunday sees attention switching from the Mountain to the north of the Island and the VMCC Festival of Jurby. Now firmly established as a highlight of the weekend, the Festival regularly attracts 10,000 fans, many astride a heady mix of unusual, iconic, long forgotten or instantly recognisable bikes as they put their machines on show alongside some of the greatest names in motorcycle racing history.

   Held in the VIP Hospitality Suite, Sunday evening’s RST Classic TT Legends Dinner sees today’s leading TT riders joined by a whole host of legendary names from the world of motorcycling as well as Isle of Man TT history. With tickets now available for either individual seats or complete tables, this is perhaps the ultimate chance for fans to join with so many famous names for an unforgettable evening.

   The action returns to the Mountain Course on Monday 28th August with two more thrilling races: the Okells Junior Classic TT Race and the Motorsport Merchandise Superbike Classic TT Race. Bank Holiday Monday also boasts the colourful Classic Racer Magazine parade of post-1974 classic machines, sure to bring back many golden memories, before the festival concludes with the closing party and prize presentation in the VIP hospitality suite.