Manx GP 2009 – Afterthoughts

This year was the third time I competed in the Manx GP. Although I’ve been
3 times, I’ve only started 3 races there. One would normally enter at
least 2 races for each trip… 3 if you can. Ignorance, mechanical failure
and weather would be the 3 most accurate reasons why I only have 2
finisher’s medals and 1 replica on my mantlepiece for all my efforts. Not
much return on investment there.


This year I thoroughly enjoyed going as fast as the machine would go (or
as fast as I dared) on closed roads, despite the poor weather. For the
first time I never got ‘lost’ and always knew exactly where I was and what
was coming next. This made it a lot less stressful… and more enjoyable. I
just lapped up the experience, basked in the moment. It’s a privilege to
be able to do something most bikers only dream about… and an absolute
hoot!

It’s a drug.


When you’re hammering flat-out through a super-fast, blind corner on a
glorious sounding Vee Twin, one quickly forgets about all the expense (I
stopped keeping tabs of race expenditure years ago), time, trouble,
energy, hassle and ball-aches it takes just to get to the Isle and
compete. Is it worth it? Probably not... but I still want to do it again.



So… the BAMF will be developed and return to the Manx GP in 2010. She will
go the way I intended her to go this year – like a missile. The only
useful Vee Twins eligible for the Junior class are long £££s (a race
prepped Doocadi 749r ?), that leaves the Ultra Lightweight class again.
Riding Mike’s Wee Monster was an honor and brilliant fun… but we need to
up the ante. 62 bhp on a road bike just doesn’t cut it around the Isle. I
know my way around there a little bit better… now I want to compete. A
Suzuki SV650 is the obvious choice... but my heart isn’t into that. I’m
having wild ideas about a Ducati Monster special… or something else Vee
Twin, different… and fast!

We’ll see.

I’ll be back in 2010.