Yesterday I just finished watching the 2017 Isle of Man TT races, which I had recorded. In the final race, the Senior TT, Ian Hutchinson (Hutchy) crashed into the barricade on a fast right hand sweeper going up the mountain on the second of six laps. He broke his right leg - again. This time it was his femur. In 2010 he broke both his tibia and fibula. The 2010 breaks were so severe that he cannot operate a foot brake with his right foot, so an extra rear brake lever has been added to his BMW S1000RR to be operated by his left thumb. The announcers noticed that he applied the rear brake while entering the right hand sweeper, but didn't know what caused the crash. Later, a photo of his front tire at the time of the crash showed that it had just been punctured.
In the same Senior TT race, James Hillier very narrowly escaped wiping out as he came over a jump at maybe 120 MPH. His Kawasaki ZX-10R wiggled so violently that Hillier was over a foot off of the seat and his left leg was way off the left side of the bike in his attempt to regain control. Somehow he regained control and continued the race - without having to change his underwear. That was a very scary moment. During the red flag after Hutchy's crash, his crew replaced the rear shock, which greatly improved his ability to control the bike for the remainder of the race.
I attempted to find out how Hutchy is doing and came across an article which mentioned that three people have died on the course this year. Last year, four were killed. In the last decade, 32 people have died on this course. I found another article that puts the 100 year tally at 246, making this event the deadliest motorcycle race in the world.
I didn't watch all of the TV announcers' banter, but I found it very odd that they made no mention of the deaths in the dialogue I heard.
Racers are not the only casualties at this race. Out of control motorcycles have careened into the crowds killing spectators as well. I did think it very odd to see people sitting just a few feet away on a wall next to motorcycles speeding past them at 180 MPH. Not my cup o' tea, thank you. I'd prefer to be a little further back out of harm's way.
It is also noteworthy to mention that Michael Dunlop won the Senior TT on a new 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R with little modification and very little time spent testing the bike prior to the race.
In the same Senior TT race, James Hillier very narrowly escaped wiping out as he came over a jump at maybe 120 MPH. His Kawasaki ZX-10R wiggled so violently that Hillier was over a foot off of the seat and his left leg was way off the left side of the bike in his attempt to regain control. Somehow he regained control and continued the race - without having to change his underwear. That was a very scary moment. During the red flag after Hutchy's crash, his crew replaced the rear shock, which greatly improved his ability to control the bike for the remainder of the race.
I attempted to find out how Hutchy is doing and came across an article which mentioned that three people have died on the course this year. Last year, four were killed. In the last decade, 32 people have died on this course. I found another article that puts the 100 year tally at 246, making this event the deadliest motorcycle race in the world.
I didn't watch all of the TV announcers' banter, but I found it very odd that they made no mention of the deaths in the dialogue I heard.
Racers are not the only casualties at this race. Out of control motorcycles have careened into the crowds killing spectators as well. I did think it very odd to see people sitting just a few feet away on a wall next to motorcycles speeding past them at 180 MPH. Not my cup o' tea, thank you. I'd prefer to be a little further back out of harm's way.
It is also noteworthy to mention that Michael Dunlop won the Senior TT on a new 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R with little modification and very little time spent testing the bike prior to the race.