Hello and welcome to the 2011 edition of Island Racer
It’s been a hell of a year since we were all watching the heroes push themselves and their bikes to the absolute limit last year, not least of all a 12 month period that been littered with injury.
Few of us TT fans will ever forget the harrowing images of Guy Martin’s Honda barrelling along the TT course last year as a whirling fireball. Horrible and genuinely upsetting to watch at the time, how Guy got away with it is still something of a mystery.
It wasn’t only Guy of course, Ian Hutchinson badly broke his right leg while racing at silverstone as part of the British superbike championship weekend. the break was about as bad as breaks get and for a while the paddock was littered with stories that the leg had to come off. It was a fraught few months.
We also had steve Plater crashing out of the TT 2010 running when he fell at the NorthWest 200.
Initially the damage was thought to only have been to his left arm, which was bad enough especially with the spectre of nerve damage hovering, but then it was discovered that Plater had broken his neck. He’s lucky that he can still walk after the accident but his recovery has seriously taken its toll and weeks before IR hit the shelves steve announced he wouldn’t be racing the roads again.
And, as if that’s not enough, we’ve also had to watch Conor Cummins battle his injuries as he tries to come back from what would have meant the end for a host of other riders. But Conor is made of stern stuff and you can read his story, Hutchy’s story and Guy’s story here in this issue.
It’s powerful stuff and really underlines what the heroes go through in their battle to be the fastest. We’ve also dipped into the Plater grey matter to get his views on the course itself these days and those who raced against him in that incredible senior race in 2009 which he won.
We’ve also put together all the information you could need for a great TT 2011 with our How to take TT Photos, Where to Watch From and Ride safe features and, as ever, we have our What’s on guide and all the times of all the races.Your one-stop shop for this year’s event.
But what makes the Isle of Man TT races special, what is at the heart of every great year of road racing and will be the cornerstone of the 2011 meeting, is you. the fans who appreciate what the riders and teams do, the fans who support the TT by going and the fans who spread the word about the greatest road racing event in the world.
You, like us, love the TT and this year’s script looks very much like being an incredibly hard one to predict. Will Hutchy take his factory Yamaha and do the business again? Will John McGuinness add to his tally of 15 wins? Will we see Guy on the Relentless Suzuki take that elusive first win onthe Island? so many questions but it’s going to be brilliant fun to find out the answers. Have a terrific and safe Isle of Man TT 2011.
Tony Carter
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