Category: IOM TT - Manx Grand Prix

1. Honda TT Legends ready for the final battle in Qatar

   Posted on 12:01am Friday 11th Nov 2011

   The Honda TT Legends will start tomorrow’s 8 Hours of Doha from ninth on the grid following the final qualifying session at the Losail International Circuit today. John McGuinness, Keith Amor and stand-in rider Glen Richards each completed a second 30-minute stint on the Honda Fireblade in a bid to improve on yesterday’s lap times. 
    
   All three riders managed this task, with Richards lapping the quickest. Cameron Donald’s replacement posted a 2:01.476 lap in the final stint to bring the team’s overall combined time up to 2:03.381 – enough to qualify in the top ten in a field of 26 teams. 
    
   Neil Tuxworth
    
   All three riders went a little bit quicker in that session, which we’re pleased about. The good thing is that all through the free practice sessions, qualifying and night practice we’ve had no incidents and no problems with the bike. We’ve got a sound basis for the race and I’d like to think we are in a strong position. You never know what is going to happen in eight hours but I’m hoping we can finish in at least a top five position. 
    
   John McGuinness
    
   We’re ninth overall on the grid but as we’ve seen in World Endurance qualifying is not the most important thing, it’s where we are at the end of eight hours and who knows how many laps! Glen has done some good times and I’ve been half a second quicker today so I’m happy with that. It’s a tough track and it’s going to be a tough race but I’m looking forward to it. I want to bring the bike home safe, score some points, maybe go up a bit in the championship and end the season as happy chaps. 
    
   Keith Amor
    
   I’m feeling a lot better than I was 24 hours ago. I’m starting to get used to the track and it’s not quite as much of a struggle. I found a bit of time today and I’m happy. It’s been a tough season but it’s nice to finish somewhere like this that is a bit easier on my injured shoulder. Let’s wait and see what happens in the race. 
    
   Glen Richards
    
   I’m feeling pretty good. I have a few little issues with my hands but we’ll try some different grips tomorrow maybe. Apart from that, the bike is working well and I felt better on it today than yesterday. It’s going to be a hard race for sure but then endurance races are always hard. We’ve just done a really good pit practice, so we’ll just get our heads down in the race and see what happens. 
    
   The final eight-hour battle of the 2011 Endurance World Championship season will begin at 13.00 AST (10.00 GMT, 11.00 CET) tomorrow.

   For real-time news, videos and images throughout the event follow @HondaTTLegends on Twitter and for post-qualifying and race reports visit www.HondaTTLegends.com Live timing is available at www.ris-timing.be

2. 2012 ISLE OF MAN TT RACES VIP PACKAGES NOW ON SALE

   Posted on 12:00am Wednesday 2nd Nov 2011

   The popularity of, and interest in, the Isle of Man TT Races continues to grow, attracting more visitors and spectators every year but the Official TT VIP Hospitality package remains the best way for people to experience the action – whether entertaining clients, rewarding staff or giving someone a truly memorable gift.

   The Isle of Man TT Races is widely recognised as one of the ‘must do’ events on the annual sporting calendar, taking its place alongside events such as Wimbledon, Test Match Cricket, the FA Cup Final, the Grand National, Six Nations Rugby and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

   The event also has something else in common with all of those prestigious events – world class VIP and Corporate Hospitality – with the TT Races offering the Isle of Man’s only prestige sporting hospitality experience. This year capacity has been capped at 300 places on each race day to ensure that guests experience a truly premium experience.

   As well as exclusive TT VIP Club access, which offers a complimentary bar, breakfast and a gourmet buffet lunch - all prepared by first class chefs - the package also offers reserved grandstand seating; easy access to the TT paddock and exclusive appearances by top riders and special guests. All ticket holders will also be entered into the daily free prize draw to win a scintillating closed roads lap of the TT Mountain Course in one of the official course cars.

   The TT VIP Club is located trackside and adjacent to the TT Grandstand and offers not only magnificent views of the famous TT course, but ensures that guests are at the very heart of all the action at the most thrilling spectator sport in the World. This year, guests will also be able to access a complimentary WiFi network and receive exclusive parking right by the action.

   The current stars of the TT will be making daily appearances in the suite for exclusive post-race interviews and chat with Radio TT and will often be joined in the suite by many other famous faces including mega-stars from TT, MotoGP, BSB, World Rally and even Formula 1 as well as celebrity bike fans.

   The 2012 TT VIP packages are available now. For an unforgettable TT 2012 experience call TT Ticketing Partner, Regency Travel on +44 1624 694456 or on line via the official Isle of Man TT web site, iomtt.com. Available on each race day, VIP packages can be purchased on an individual basis or complete tables of eight.

3. TT takeover at Motorcycle Live

   Posted on 12:01am Monday 31st Oct 2011

   TT fans have a new date to add to the diary as Motorcycle Live 2011 will once again be dedicating a full day to the legendary Isle of Man event. The final day of the show – which takes place at The NEC, Birmingham from 19-27 November – is officially TT Day. 
    
   On Sunday 27 November, the likes of John McGuinness, Conor Cummins, Bruce Anstey, Ryan Farquhar, Michael Dunlop, Michael Rutter and sidecar stars Dave Molyneux, John Holden and Andy Winkle will all make an appearance for a celebration of one of the world’s most thrilling road racing events. 
    
   The Black Horse Stage, in the Arai Entertainment Zone, will feature a TT takeover, with a themed Q&A hosted by James Whitham and a special Fast Bikes Question of Bikes quiz hosted by Steve Parrish and contested by the TT stars. The racers will also be around all day for fan meet & greets and autograph sessions. TT star Guy Martin won’t make it for TT day but will make an appearance at the show on Sunday 20 November. 
    
   The ticket price for Motorcycle Live 2011 is completely all-inclusive, meaning visitors can enjoy everything the show has to offer at no extra cost. Tickets are £16 in advance* for adults, £10 for seniors, £6 for children aged 6-16 and kids five and under accompanied by a paying adult go free.

   Visit www.motorcyclelive.co.uk or call 0844 5812345. For the lastest news and updates, visit www.facebook.com/motorcyclelive or follow @motorcyclelive on Twitter

4. Honda TT Legends achieve world-first with Combined ABS

   Posted on 12:00am Saturday 1st Oct 2011

   The Honda TT Legends achieved a world-first last weekend, completing the Le Mans 24-hour aboard a Combined ABS-equipped CBR1000RR Fireblade to become the first team to run the system at World Championship level.
     
   The Endurance World Championship contenders have been testing Combined ABS throughout the 2011 season, working towards a potential launch at the 8-hour race in Qatar in November. Development has gone so well that the team decided to bring forward the introduction of the system and run it during the ultimate challenge of the Le Mans 24-hour.
    
   The Combined ABS system ran smoothly throughout the demanding race, which saw the Honda TT Legends place fifth in a field of 62 teams to rise to ninth in the 2011 Endurance World Championship standings.
    
   Honda pioneered the introduction of ABS on road-going motorcycles and the manufacturer has already experienced racing success at national level when a Combined ABS-equipped Fireblade ridden by Karl Muggeridge won the 2010 German Superbike Championship. The Honda TT Legends team will now continue to run Combined ABS for the remainder of the 2011 season – which concludes in Qatar– and into 2012.
    
   Neil Tuxworth – Honda TT Legends team manager
    
   Our plan was always to develop ABS during the 2011 season and we’ve done a lot of work at various tests. We were very confident that we were ready to go out and race it so we took the risk to use it at Le Mans. Honda has a long history of proving its technology in the ultimate competitive environment and what could be more testing that the Le Mans 24-hour race. We are over the moon with the performance and we had no problems with it whatsoever. The riders were very happy and while we’ll obviously keep developing the system, for this first time being used in World-level racing everything has certainly gone very well.

   John McGuinness
    
   We had no problems with the Combined ABS system at all. It’s still in the early stages and there are lots of sophisticated parts on the bike, but the brakes were fantastic for the whole of the 24-hours. There are certainly no complaints from me. To get fifth place on the first outing for the system is mega and hopefully we’ll get on the podium with it at some stage.
     
   Cameron Donald

   Having Combined ABS on the bike was definitely a benefit. I’m sure it got me out of trouble more than once, especially late on the race when fatigue was kicking in. The system ran so smoothly throughout the entire race and I can’t wait to see how it will develop. It’s definitely an exciting prospect.

   Keith Amor

   We didn’t really know what to expect when the team took the decision to run the Combined ABS bike. It’s pretty much brand new, so to come here and for the bike to last and do what it’s done is fantastic. 24 hours is a long time to race around here on any bike and to finish the race and place fifth on the new ABS machine is brilliant.

5. Honda TT Legends to run Combined ABS at Le Mans 24-hour

   Posted on 12:00am Saturday 24th Sep 2011

   The Honda TT Legends will today become the first team to run electronically controlled Combined ABS at World Championship level. The World Endurance contenders will use an ABS-equipped CBR1000RR Fireblade for the Le Mans 24-hour race, which begins today at 3pm (Central European Time). 
    
   The team has carried out extensive testing of the system over the past few months with a view to introducing it to the race bike in 2012. The results have been so successful however that the decision has been made to run Combined ABS at the penultimate round of the 2011 EWC season at Le Mans, France.
    
   Honda pioneered the introduction of ABS on road-going motorcycles and the manufacturer has already experienced racing success at national level when a Combined ABS-equipped Fireblade ridden by Karl Muggeridge won the 2010 German Superbike Championship. This is the first time that Honda has used the system during a World championship. 
    
   Neil Tuxworth – Honda TT Legends team manager
    
   Our plan was always to develop ABS during the season and we’ve done a lot of work at various tests. We are now very confident that we are ready to go out and race it. All the riders are happy with the system, we’ve encountered no problems whatsoever during our test period and in fact the riders have lapped quicker here in Le Mans on the ABS bike than on the non-ABS bike. It’s certainly our plan for next season to run ABS continually. We have to make that move at a certain point and this seems the ideal event to introduce ABS. The fact that it is a 24-hour race means it will be an extra long test for the system and Honda has a long history of proving its technology in the ultimate competitive environment. I have no real worries from a racing point of view – the system has more parts so it might take a bit longer in the pits in the event of crash damage – but I think that is a small price to pay for the fact that the ABS system is very, very good.