As I mentioned in the first post I have been required by the ACU(The relevant governing body) to attend a Newcomers course on the Isle of Man. I returned from that course 22/6/2016. Since December I have been watching on board footage of the 37 mile(60km) long course. I have know what corner came next and how fast the riders were taking them. I was quite surprised by how different it looks in real life. The videos do not convey the elevation changes at all. There are sections with a 12% incline that on the videos look almost flat! There are so many nuances that can only be seen by physically going around the course. I got a lot out of it.
The instructor I spent the most time with was John Batty a mature racer who is putting back into the sport in a big way. I stayed at his home from which we would leave each morning and do laps. In total we did about 22 full laps and 4 part laps. The part laps occurring because we detoured to visit a local suspension expert, an engineer, and two road closures on the mountain. I also did some laps with a Traveling Marshal Tony Duncan and another racer Barry Wood. Their slightly different perspectives offering a fuller view on how to race the IOM. All instructors were volunteers.
We did a pit walk, ran through a pit stop, sign on, scrutineering and how to form up for practice.
We did a pit walk, ran through a pit stop, sign on, scrutineering and how to form up for practice.