Lara Mills
31-05-13, 11:05
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The red flags came out again last night during the sidecar practice after an incident at Graham's Memorial. The Manx Radio TT Facebook Page gave out this information:
Here are the details of the red flag incident tonight. Newcomers in the sidecars, David Saunders and Ann Garnish were involved in the incident. They were talking to medics at the scene and are being transferred to Noble's Hospital. We wish them both a full and speedy recovery.
The weather seems to be a big cause of the problems during TT, as an article in the Belfast Telegraph says:
Saturday's opening race at this year's Isle of Man TT, the six-lap Dainese Superbike TT, could now be in jeopardy due to limited track time after last night's session was again abandoned by the majority of top competitors.
Monday night's first full session, albeit un-timed, was red-flagged after the unfortunate incident at Ballacrye that sadly took the life of Japanese rider Yoshinari Matsushita.
Tuesday night's session was abandoned due to inclement weather on the Isle of Man, and last night's session was – in the words of many top riders – 'a complete waste of time' with wet and treacherous conditions covering 70 percent of the circuit.
Honda TT Legends team leader John McGuinness did venture out for a single lap on his 600cc HM Plant Padgetts machine, but pulled in at Quarter Bridge and toured back to paddock for another long night of waiting, just after starting his second circuit.
"I thought I could hear something wrong with the bike to be honest so I pulled off at Quarter Bridge and rode along the Prom, which was pretty cool," he joked. "I took the scenic route back to the paddock." Ever the optimist, McGuinness backed the organisers when asked about the possibility of Saturday's Superbike TT being put back.
"That's the job of those guys up in the Tower behind me to make that decision. I'll not be pushing for a Saturday race if asked. The conditions out there were very bad and we all just need to be cautious and patient."
Having only completed three laps on his Superstock machine and one on the Supersport 600, the 19-time TT winner said of the Superbike: "I know my Superbike very well, but we haven't done any laps on them yet this TT and that's not what you need in terms of set-up around here. As I say I'll leave the decisions to the organisers and whatever they decide I'll happily go along with."
One man who doesn't normally mind the wet conditions is Kiwi Bruce Anstey, but with the session un-timed and with yellow flags strewn virtually all round the circuit, he also decided to call it a night.
"It was not too bad until we reached Sulby but after that it was wet all around, and with those yellow flags everywhere, there was no point in continuing," he said.
Aussie Josh Brookes used him time wisely, mixing with his newfound fans, signing autographs and sampling the atmosphere, but the Tyco Suzuki TT rookie is also hungry for laps to familiarise himself with the circuit. With no timed practice to date and only Thursday and Friday to left on the official practice schedule, could we see the Superbike TT moved to Sunday and will anyone get the chance to win that six-grand watch?
Tyco Suzuki team manager Philip Neill said: " I just wonder how much of an inconvenience a Sunday race would be for residents."
Practice continues tonight, weather permitting, at 6.20pm.
The weather caused many issues last year, too, with many races (including the senior) to be cancelled. It was only the second year in the history of TT that the senior race could not go ahead... will it be a third?
The races start tomorrow, with John McGuinness recording the fastest average speed on the course (129.32), though Bruce Anstey is getting pretty close (129.14).
The sidecar races are also close, with Dave Molyneux and Patrick Farrance clocking in at 113.56 and Tim Reeves and Daniel Sayle at 113.15.
Who do you think will do well this year?
The red flags came out again last night during the sidecar practice after an incident at Graham's Memorial. The Manx Radio TT Facebook Page gave out this information:
Here are the details of the red flag incident tonight. Newcomers in the sidecars, David Saunders and Ann Garnish were involved in the incident. They were talking to medics at the scene and are being transferred to Noble's Hospital. We wish them both a full and speedy recovery.
The weather seems to be a big cause of the problems during TT, as an article in the Belfast Telegraph says:
Saturday's opening race at this year's Isle of Man TT, the six-lap Dainese Superbike TT, could now be in jeopardy due to limited track time after last night's session was again abandoned by the majority of top competitors.
Monday night's first full session, albeit un-timed, was red-flagged after the unfortunate incident at Ballacrye that sadly took the life of Japanese rider Yoshinari Matsushita.
Tuesday night's session was abandoned due to inclement weather on the Isle of Man, and last night's session was – in the words of many top riders – 'a complete waste of time' with wet and treacherous conditions covering 70 percent of the circuit.
Honda TT Legends team leader John McGuinness did venture out for a single lap on his 600cc HM Plant Padgetts machine, but pulled in at Quarter Bridge and toured back to paddock for another long night of waiting, just after starting his second circuit.
"I thought I could hear something wrong with the bike to be honest so I pulled off at Quarter Bridge and rode along the Prom, which was pretty cool," he joked. "I took the scenic route back to the paddock." Ever the optimist, McGuinness backed the organisers when asked about the possibility of Saturday's Superbike TT being put back.
"That's the job of those guys up in the Tower behind me to make that decision. I'll not be pushing for a Saturday race if asked. The conditions out there were very bad and we all just need to be cautious and patient."
Having only completed three laps on his Superstock machine and one on the Supersport 600, the 19-time TT winner said of the Superbike: "I know my Superbike very well, but we haven't done any laps on them yet this TT and that's not what you need in terms of set-up around here. As I say I'll leave the decisions to the organisers and whatever they decide I'll happily go along with."
One man who doesn't normally mind the wet conditions is Kiwi Bruce Anstey, but with the session un-timed and with yellow flags strewn virtually all round the circuit, he also decided to call it a night.
"It was not too bad until we reached Sulby but after that it was wet all around, and with those yellow flags everywhere, there was no point in continuing," he said.
Aussie Josh Brookes used him time wisely, mixing with his newfound fans, signing autographs and sampling the atmosphere, but the Tyco Suzuki TT rookie is also hungry for laps to familiarise himself with the circuit. With no timed practice to date and only Thursday and Friday to left on the official practice schedule, could we see the Superbike TT moved to Sunday and will anyone get the chance to win that six-grand watch?
Tyco Suzuki team manager Philip Neill said: " I just wonder how much of an inconvenience a Sunday race would be for residents."
Practice continues tonight, weather permitting, at 6.20pm.
The weather caused many issues last year, too, with many races (including the senior) to be cancelled. It was only the second year in the history of TT that the senior race could not go ahead... will it be a third?
The races start tomorrow, with John McGuinness recording the fastest average speed on the course (129.32), though Bruce Anstey is getting pretty close (129.14).
The sidecar races are also close, with Dave Molyneux and Patrick Farrance clocking in at 113.56 and Tim Reeves and Daniel Sayle at 113.15.
Who do you think will do well this year?