Rennie Scaysbrook | May 24, 2023
I’ve been riding with my little boy, Harvey, a lot these past few days. He’s been ripping around on Kawasaki’s splendid little Elektrode electric bike, and I’ve really enjoyed his company as we’ve bonded so much recently.
It made seeing the look in his eyes all the more painful this morning as I dropped him off at kindergarten. He knows Dad is going racing. And Dad is racing at the Isle of Man TT. He knows I’ll be as safe as possible. And he heard me when I promised him I will be back.
An extra-long hug from my wife and that look from my son were enough to bring a solid lump to my throat. It was then I realized just how selfish I was to be doing the Isle of Man TT, but by doing so, I hope to show my son the only way to achieve your dreams is to go out there and get them. No one will do it for you.
The most famous start line in racing awaits the 2023 Isle of Man TT.
The Isle of Man TT is barely describable to motorcycle lovers, let alone the parents I interact with at Harvey’s daycare. Most simply can’t wrap their head around the idea of racing a souped-up streetbike at up to 200 mph on nearly 38 miles of public roads. To be honest, I struggle to comprehend it as well.
If you haven’t already, I strongly suggest you get your TT Live Plus pass and check this year’s racing live and to see the documentary series No Room For Error. It’s shot in the same style as Formula One’s Drive to Survive but makes that series look like one for toddlers.
But the lure of the TT is something undeniable. The island, nestled smack in the middle between England and Ireland, has a magnetic pull to it that once you’ve experienced, be it as a rider or spectator, you’ll never get close to feeling anywhere else in the world.
The mix of danger, excitement, trepidation, awe, anxiety and exuberance is unlike anything else. As Davy Todd says, many people think that you just leave your brain in the toolbox before you go out on track. The opposite is true. You need every ounce of your mental capacity to race the TT Mountain Course. You’re on the highest of alerts for the full two weeks. The kind of alert soldiers in wartime need to channel.
This place takes no prisoners but in return gives the kind of rush utterly unequal to anything I’ve done before, be it jumping out of a plane or driving fast cars or during my many early mornings of partying in my youth. Sweet dreams are made of this. Who am I to disagree?
To hold a motorcycle to the stops down Bray Hill and know in your heart of hearts that you didn’t lift, feel the complete compression of the suspension at the bottom of the hill and then fire over Ago’s Leap, is adrenaline of the purest kind. Hunter S. Thompson, in one of his all-too-many famous one-liners, said, “Being shot out of a cannon is always better than being squeezed out of a tube.” No truer words have yet reached my ears.
But the TT is far more than just the spectacle of the pros and amateurs trying to keep their metallic horses on the straight and narrow. The place is motorcycling Valhalla. Everywhere you go, you see motorcycles—in the pubs, cafes, on Douglas Promenade in their thousands—you (almost) never get a rest from the sound of bike engines, which, to me, is my kind of music.
This is the one place I’ve been to where motorcycle riders are the majority, not the minority. The commerce bought by the world’s bikers is thoroughly appreciated, and it’s a wonderful and inescapable feeling being a part of it.
This year, I will be stepping up to race with the big boys in the Superbike, Superstock and Senior TTs on the Wilson Craig Honda. A team that has enjoyed so much success such as this is a true honor to ride for, so, if they picked me, I must be half okay at steering a bike.
The team has a strong Aussie and Kiwi connection, with my good mates David Johnson and Cameron Donald, and my old New Zealand teammate Daniel Mettam all having donned the famous red and silver livery.
I have absolute faith in the team. I know the bike will be prepared beautifully, and as I am the only 1000cc rider with South African AJ Ventor on the 600, I have the full weight of the team at my disposal. I’ll try not to be too much of a pain in the ass.
Rennie’s Wilson Craig Honda awaits his arrival at the Isle.
I would like to thank Adam and Abhi at Iconic Motorbikes for coming on board as title sponsors for this year’s event. These guys are good mates and I’m very pleased to rock the red, black, blue, and green leathers (they look pretty wild) at the world’s most famous race.
Thank you also to Strider Bikes, whose products my son has enjoyed since his first birthday.
Thanks also to my long-time supporters Arai, Alpinestars, and Pirelli/Metzeler for providing me with the best helmets, leathers, and tires in the game.
Jamie Robinson at MotoGeo has come on board as a late sponsor so please go and check out his YouTube for your next motorcycle road trip inspiration. And of course, thanks to Cycle News for their belief in me that I can do the job well and, most importantly, safely.
Tune into Cycle News over the coming two weeks for updates on how it’s all going and head over to the Cycle News YouTube channel for the regular video diary and feature updates.
It’s time to jump in the Uber and get on that plane. It’s time to step up.CN
