Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix

1. ISLE OF MAN GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES ISLE OF MAN TT SERIES PROMOTER PROCUREMENT TENDER PROCESS

   Posted on 2:40pm Wednesday 21st Jan 2015

   The Isle of Man Government, the licence holder for the Isle of Man TT, is inviting expressions of interest for an independent Promoter to organise and commercialise the Isle of Man TT Races and Classic TT Races and develop a global Isle of Man TT Series.

   The Isle of Man TT is one of the world's oldest motorsport events. It started in 1905 as the British trial round for the fledgling European car racing championship, the precursor to modern day Formula 1, with motorbikes introduced in 1907.

   The races take place on a 37¾ mile circuit of closed public roads and feature seven bike classes: Superbike, Supersport, Superstock, Senior, Lightweight, Electric and Sidecar.

   The Isle of Man, which is a UK crown dependency in the British Isles, hosts the annual two week festival in late May and early June, annually attracting over 43,000 visitors.

   In 2014, the Isle of Man TT was televised in 130 countries and produced 402 hours of global TV coverage. The event reached an audience of almost 26 million and delivered a clear media value of over £13 million.*A new event, the Classic TT, building and leveraging the event's heritage, was established in 2013. It takes place over the three days of the Aug bank holiday weekend,

   Building on this global and diverse growth, an independent Promoter will now have the unique opportunity to develop and implement new TT road race events around the world as part of a 'TT Series'. Ultimately, the Promoter will develop a global series that will see the stars of the TT competing in locations across the globe, culminating in the series champion being crowned at the Isle of Man TT itself.

   Under the proposed scope of services, the Isle of Man Government will license all commercial aspects of the TT events to an independent Promoter, including: domestic and international television and broadcast rights, sponsorship, licensing, hospitality, event ticketing, merchandising and retail sales.

   The Promoter will be responsible for delivering the operational aspects of the Isle of Man TT and Classic TT jointly with the Isle of Man Government. The Promoter will also be responsible for independently contracting with individual host cities to deliver the TT Series events across the world.

   Matt Wilson, Director of Consulting at 'The Sports Consultancy' who are managing the process on behalf of the Isle of Man Government, commented:

   "The Isle of Man TT Races is one of the world's truly great sports properties combining iconic heritage with state of the art machinery and strong brand values. We believe that it has huge untapped global commercial potential and on behalf of the Isle of Man Government are looking to identify a Promoter who shares the Government's vision, will develop the event to the next level and deliver enhanced commercial value to the Island."  

2. HONDA RACING RIDERS BEGIN 2015 SEASON WITH EIS FITNESS DAY

   Posted on 7:47am Saturday 17th Jan 2015

   For the second consecutive year, Honda's road racing stars John McGuinness and Conor Cummins joined their Honda Racing Endurance World Championship counterparts Freddy Foray and Julien da Costa and some of Honda's other elite riders and kicked off the season with an Assessment Day at the English Institute of Sport - the organisation behind much of Team GB's outstanding success at the London 2012 Olympics.

   The riders were put through their paces in a series of physio and isometric tests, strength and conditioning assessments and fitness analyses. The data collected from each rider will be collated, compared to previous year's results and used to form the basis of their training and fitness programmes for the 2015 racing season.

   The two-day event was organised by Honda Motor Europe, in conjunction with the EIS, as part of its ongoing commitment to maximising rider performance across all disciplines. Pata Honda World Superbike Championship stars Sylvain Guintoli and Michael van der Mark, 2014 European Junior Cup winner Augusto Fernandez, 2014 Honda 150 Champion Albie Wilkie and former World Enduro Champion Alex Salvini were also in attendance.

   Conor Cummins was positive about the experience:
   "I really enjoy coming to the EIS and this year has been even better as we're able to see any improvement and changes compared to last year. I have my own trainer and usually train with him alone, so it's nice to get together with the other riders and compare notes. I'll definitely be taking all the data back to my coach so we can use it to figure out my fitness programme for the year ahead."

   The road racing season will begin with the Northwest 200 in May followed by the Isle of Man TT which runs from Saturday 30th May to Friday 12th June 2015. For all the latest news on Honda Racing follow @HondaRacingCBR on Twitter.

3. RYAN FARQUHAR RETURNS TO 'BIG BIKE' CLASS AT TT 2015

   Posted on 4:46pm Monday 12th Jan 2015

   Northern Ireland racer Ryan Farquhar, a three-time TT Race winner, is set for an increased attack on this year's Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy.

   Having made his return to the Mountain Course in the 2014 BikeNation Lightweight TT race, after a two-year absence from the Isle of Man, the KMR Kawasaki rider will now contest four races in June and is sure to line up amongst the favourites in all of the classes.

   Continuing with Kawasaki machinery for the eighth consecutive year, Farquhar, who turns 39 in February, will contest the RL360 Superstock on his old production machine and the BikeNation Lightweight TT on a new ER6. He'll also be campaigning a high-spec Kawasaki ZX-10R Superbike for the RST Superbike and Dainese Senior TT Races.

   Having retired from racing in August 2012, the Dungannon rider, the most successful in Irish Road Racing history, returned to the sport at the beginning of 2014 along with Keith Amor and the duo contested the Lightweight class on Farquhar's immaculately prepared ER6 650cc Kawasakis. He also raced Roger Winfield's classic Yamaha and Paton in the 2014 Classic TT Races.

   Having won the re-introduced Lightweight TT race in 2012 - the first for Super Twin-spec machines - Farquhar took a relatively low key seventh place in last year's race, paying the price for only having one bike and suffering a distinct lack of track time compared with his rivals during the fortnight.

   Farquhar made his TT debut in 2002 after winning the Manx Grand Prix, and now has a total of 13 podiums to his name, as well as three race wins in the 2004 Production 600cc, the 2005 Supersport B and 2012 Lightweight races - a tally he's keen to add to later this year.

   The presence of one of the greatest names in road racing on the entry list for all solo classes will be a terrific addition to the event and adds further intrigue and excitement to what's already shaping up to be another stunning TT fortnight.

   Commenting on his return to the Superbike and Superstock class, Farquhar said:

   "To go back to the TT with just the one bike is a waste of time. My intentions last year were to just do a few classic races and ride the Supertwin at selected races but it left me badly on the back foot. It was a big disadvantage because I wasn't bike fit but I'm back in training again and I haven't trained in years, so you can take out of that what you want! I'm not going out there to waste tyres and fuel."

4. JACKSON RACING LAUNCH 'ROADS' AND ENDURANCE CAMPAIGN WITH McGUINNESS, CUMMINS AND HONDA

   Posted on 4:11pm Wednesday 7th Jan 2015

   Leading road racing team Jackson Racing will be undertaking a Honda-supported campaign for the Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy, the other international road races and World Endurance Championship in 2015. Twenty-one time TT race winner John McGuinness and Manxman Conor Cummins will spearhead their attack on Honda CBR1000RR SP and Honda CBR600RR machinery.

   McGuinness joins the team for the first time and will be armed with a CBR600RR Honda for the Monster Energy Supersport races at the Isle of Man TT and North West 200 events joining Cummins, who had a strong debut campaign with the Preston based outfit in 2014.

   Cummins will also enjoy the backing of the squad in the RL360 Superstock race for the first time where he'll line up on the formidable CBR1000RR SP. The 28-year old will also contest the Supersport and Superstock races at the Ulster Grand Prix, the third of the 'big three' International road races.

   Run by brothers Alan jnr and Andy, the team will make their debut in the Endurance World Championship, contesting the Superstock class. Again using the Honda CBR1000RR SP, Honda-contracted riders McGuinness and Cummins will be joined by a third rider Dan Stewart, the 2012 TT Privateer's Champion.

   Both McGuinness and Cummins have prior experience in the EWC with 42-year old McGuinness riding for Honda TT Legends from 2011 to 2013, scoring a best position of fourth overall, while 28-year old Cummins has previously competed in both the Le Mans and Bol d'Or 24 Hour races.

   Jackson Racing, meanwhile, has a wealth of experience within the motorcycling paddocks, dating back to the 1970s when Alan Jackson senior won three consecutive World Formula Two Championships between 1977-79, also taking three victories at the Isle of Man TT during that period.

   Sons Alan junior and Andy continued the dynasty, Alan setting the outright lap record at the Manx Grand Prix in 2005 with a speed of 122.208mph, a record that still stands today. The team is no stranger to success having contested World and British Championships and they have supported the careers of many road racing stars including Ian Lougher, James Hillier, Steve Mercer and American Mark Miller.

   www.jacksonracing.bike

   www.twitter.com/@jack5onracing

5. IRISH SUPERSPORT CHAMPION McGEE SET TO MAKE TT DEBUT

   Posted on 5:16pm Tuesday 30th Dec 2014

   Reigning Irish Supersport Road Race Champion Derek McGee will make his Mountain Course debut at the 2015 Isle of Man TT Races, fuelled by Monster Energy.

   The 28-year old has recently signed for the renowned and highly respected Wilson Craig Racing team and will campaign Honda machinery in the RST Superbike, PokerStars Senior, RL360 Superstock and Monster Energy Supersport categories at the TT.

   The Mullingar rider came to the fore in 2011 when he won numerous races in the Irish Support Road Race Championship and he has gone from strength to strength since, going on to establish himself as a front runner in the National Superbike, Supersport and Supertwin Road Race Championships.

   The last two seasons have been his most successful to date, particularly 2014 when he clinched the Irish Supersport Road Race Championship helped by wins at Kells and Killalane and podiums at Cookstown, Tandragee, Skerries, Walderstown and Faugheen. He also more than proved his capabilities in the Superbike class with podiums coming at Cookstown, Tandragee and Kells while also finishing second overall in the Supertwins Championship.

   On the International scene, McGee's outings have so far been limited to the Ulster Grand Prix but he has certainly impressed, lapping at 126.607mph around the high-speed Dundrod course and taking a strong second place in this year's second Supertwin Race. Results like these should see him in good stead for next June when he tackles the 37 ¾-mile Mountain Course for the first time.

   Speaking during his first circuit learning trip on the Isle of Man with TT rider liaison officers John Barton and Richard Quayle recently Derek said:

   "The TT has been on my radar for some time and now feels like the right time to make my debut. Teaming up with Wilson Craig Racing makes the process a lot easier of course, and their experience will be invaluable. I've loved looking around the course this weekend and can't wait to ride it. I've had a lot of help from John Barton and Richard Quayle and I intend on doing as much homework as I can ahead of making my debut in May."