TT Dream: Livin' on a prayer...
Hi everyone and welcome to the second article detailing my efforts to race at the 2013 Isle of Man TT!
I have to start by saying a huge thanks to everyone for the comments and feedback that followed the first article. It's really nice to read so much encouragement from my fellow Crash.net readers and I really appreciate the support.
The weeks that have passed since the first article was published have been busy ones!
Last year I rode a Yamaha R6 at a combination of short circuit meetings and real road race meetings, and this same bike will be the one that I will enter into the Supersport races at the TT.
But being aware that getting an entry to the TT will be difficult to say the least, I have also been eager to source a Supertwin bike to double my chances.
Finding sponsorship is difficult enough for even the biggest names in racing, so it was always going to be a big challenge for little old me!
Thankfully my French family roots helped, and with backing from BikeClubFrance and a personal loan, I secured the budget to purchase a Kawasaki ER6 ridden last year by Ivan Lintin.
It still needs a few bits doing to it, the forks are off to Steve Jordan Motorcycles for an upgrade and it needs a steering damper, but other than that it's pretty much ready to go. Result!
As well as getting a Supertwin sorted, I had the enjoyable task of officially submitting my TT entry, which I can honestly say is the most excited I have ever been about completing paperwork!
Entries for the Supersport and Supertwins races are in, along with an email appealing my case to the organisers. The online system has assured me I'll find out whether or not I have been accepted before the end of March, so for the next two months, I'll be praying for a yes in each class!
Meanwhile I've also been arranging testing and racing for prior to the TT, to blow away the winter cobwebs and get to grips with the Supertwin.
A lot of guys head to Spain or Portugal for testing these days, but I prefer my pre-season to have a little more glamour - so for me it's a trackday at Snetterton in early March!
The racing I've got planned is a lot more fun though. After a few short circuit meetings I'm heading to Ireland for the Cookstown and Tandragee road races.
They were my first real road races last year and I had an absolute blast, so I can't wait to do them again. Tandragee is particularly good fun, almost like a mini-TT. If anyone is coming along to them then do come and say hello.
With all this preparation I now just can't wait to get onto the bikes. But it's not too long to wait, I'll let you know how it goes!
Thanks for reading,
Oli
