There’s nothing like the TT! Rookies?
- From: TRS Media | Published: February 22nd, 2008 - 8:53 am
THE big success story of the TT in recent years has been the introduction of new talent to the event. This is set to continue in 2008 with yet more star name debutants. Hot on the heels of Steve Plater last year, two more of Britain’s most established and respected names in road racing are preparing.
Sean Emmett was unfortunately not able to attend the official launch on Monday, but Jamie Robinson the former 250cc British champion and ex-GP regular is looking forward to the challenge posed by the Mountain Course.
He has fond memories of the Isle of Man as a youngster, first visiting at the age of eight as a passenger on his father Phil’s BSA Gold Star.
‘We used to camp at Noble’s Park where we could live and breathe the atmosphere of the TT,’ said the London based Yorkshireman who admits he has great affection for the Isle of Man.
‘I was quite keen to ride the Manx Grand Prix but my career path steered me away from the Island, even though dad came back to ride in the Classic MGP between 1988 and 1991 on a Seeley BSA and G50 Matchless.
‘I had not given the TT much thought again until I met development manager Paul Phillips and riders’ liaison Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle at the NEC Bike Show in early December and we got talking about the possibilities of my racing here.
‘I came over to the Island a few weeks ago for a serious look at the course before making my decision. I had not been over since I was about 16 and admit the thought of racing here is in some respects quite daunting. Dad’s best friend John Loder died after crashing on the mountain in practice for the Classic Manx a couple of years ago, so my decision was not taken lightly by my family.
‘I have made my mind up and I am now fully committed to the TT, in fact it is likely to be my only race meeting this year, give or take a few warm-up events.’
Robinson was one of the biggest names in 250 racing in the 1990s. British champion in 1995, he had two full seasons in GPs as a privateer in 1996-97 claiming many top-10 finishes, but his best result came in 2000 with a sixth place in a wild card ride at Assen. He also recorded the fastest lap at the British GP that year.
Robinson, now 32, was the best rookie in the British Supersport championship in 2001 and has run his own team in the series since.
‘I no longer want to do short circuits, I am looking for a new challenge so the wheels have started turning already, so to speak, and my homework has begun. I have never raced on pure roads before, in fact I have never really ridden on them as I haven’t passed my bike test yet, so there is a lot to do between now and the third week in May.’
To simplify things, Robinson is limiting his TT debut year to the two Supersport races on as yet unspecified mounts.
World Sidecar Champion Tim Reeves is taking his TT debut very seriously and has already spent no fewer than six weekends here checking out the course, dividing his time between local stars Nick Crowe and Dave Molyneux. He has the added advantage of having Patrick Farrance, an experienced TT competitor, as his passenger and the backing of 10-times World Sidecar champion Steve Webster MBE.
Reeves is a tough cookie, you don’t win three world titles back-to-back without a high degree of natural ability and bravery, so former World Sidecar champion Klaus Klaffenbock’s comments at Monday evening’s TT 2008 launch may well come back to haunt him in a year or two: ‘World titles mean nothing here,’ said the Austrian, ‘Dave Molyneux and Nick Crowe are the ones to beat at the TT.’
This could be construed as a compliment to the two Manx drivers or a sarcastic jibe at Reeves. As the pair are not the best of friends, perhaps it was aimed at the current World No1 whose commitment, it has to be said, is second to none.
Even in the last few weeks he has changed his view from being slightly guarded with regards to the TT, to it now being his top priority. ‘I have won three world titles but my ambition is to now win a TT, so I will continue to come back until I do it,’ he said.
Reeves is also fully aware of the dangers of the Mountain Course, adding: ‘My main aim this year is to have fun and go home from here alive.’
Another true world class performer making his TT debut this year is World Supersport podium finisher Alessio Corradi of Italy.
The friendly 32-year-old loved his first visit to the Island, making the trip over from Parma with his charming wife Mariann and 13-month-old son Alex.
He started racing in 1995 and within two years he has achieved GP status, riding the 125 series on an Aprilia gaining a best result of eighth at Anderstorp in Sweden.
Four times runner-up in the Italian Supersport championship (his results affected by a series of mechanical breakdowns and a shoulder injury), the man with a similar diminutive build to fellow countryman Loris Capirossi completed six full seasons in World Supersport between 2001 and 2006, gaining podium finishes at Valencia in 2003 behind Chris Vermeulen and Katsuaki Fujiwara, and Imola in 2005 behind Kevin Curtain and Gianluca Nannelli.
Excited at the prospect of taking on the challenge of the TT, Corradi completed no fewer than 20 laps of the Mountain Course on Sunday night and was all set for another impromptu practice session after the official launch on Monday until he was advised that the temperatures were not conducive to safe driving over the mountain.
He is to ride a 675cc Triumph for London-based Extreme Rider in the Supersport and Superstock TTs.
Former Virgin Mobile R6 Cup Championship regular James Hillier has been taken under the wing of local team Martin Bullock Racing for his TT debut.
The 22-year-old got the taste for bike racing when he came to the Island with his father to watch the TT in 1997 and hired a mini moto on Douglas promenade.
That short taster session got the 11-year-old into mini moto racing and by 2002 he had progressed to the 125 Aprilia Challenge, finishing third overall. Two seasons in the R6 Cup saw him claim a race win and four other podium finishes, while for the past two seasons he has been a regular top-15 finisher in the British Supersport series.
He will race a 1000cc Suzuki for MBR in the Superstock and Superbike classes and will benefit from the experience of former Junior MGP winner Ian Pattinson, who has been associated with the team for the past nine years.
‘I’ve been interested in the TT from a young age and I am looking forward to making my debut,’ said Hillier on Monday, having taken time to visit the Special Needs Unit at St Ninian’s High School earlier in the day with Martin Finnegan, Tim Reeves and Patrick Farrance.
He has never ridden on closed roads, but the British Supersport regular is hoping to get an entry accepted for the North West 200 on the run up to the TT, which he describes as the king of road racing – the biggest and the best.
Sean Emmett was unable to attend the official launch because of last-minute family commitments, but he is likely to revisit the Island before the TT for further preparatory work. He has a top class pedigree and no doubt there will be a lot of expectation on his shoulders.
If anything he has an even more impressive credentials than last year’s star rookie Steve Plater, having contested 500GPs and the British Superbike series on a regular basis over the last 15 years. Since 1997 he has accumulated a tally of 59 podium finishes in the BSB series including no fewer than 12 wins.
Emmett is not a complete stranger to roads, having previously competed in the Macau GP.
He will line up for the Speedfreaks/Ice Valley mineral water team, run by manager/rider Paul Shoesmith.
Also in the team is 29-year-old Jenny Tinmouth of Ellesmere Port who will be riding a 125 Honda in the Ultra-Lightweight TT on the Billown Course on Saturday, June 7.
She finished 17th in last year’s British 125 Championship with a best result of eighth at Thruxton. Jenny had a seventh at Oulton Park in 2006.
Under the new regulations, she will be able to contest the Manx Grand Prix in August as a newcomer and return to the Island to make her TT debut on the Mountain Course in 2009.
