Real Road Racing

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JohnBM01

JohnBM01

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After having played "Suzuki TT Superbikes: Real Road Racing," I've become a lot more interested about real road racing with the daring motorcycle riders that dare test these courses. My knowledge on some of these courses grow more and more the more I try to see videos and stuff.

These are some of the true courses I know:

* Aberdare Park
* Oliver's Mount
* Southern 100 at Billown Circuit
* Ulster Grand Prix
* Northwest 200
* Isle of Man TT
* Cookstown 100!

(! = not featured in "Suzuki TT Superbikes: RRRC)

I am most scared watching these riders race as hard as they do on these roads. Two wheel-racing on public and rural roads at 180+ mph (or whatever speeds sidecars run) is just scary. I have the utmost respect for how these pros are able to tackle racing on these courses. The majority of videos I've seen on YouTube featuring laps of these tracks have been with Guy Martin. Dude can ride the wheels off of a motorcycle on these courses.



This thread is not so much a proper thread to discuss real road racing events (including the Isle of Man TT), but more like this style of racing in general. This is crazy stuff. Care to chat on real road racing?
 
There are many heroes of road racing with the most famous being 'Yer Maun' Joey Dunlop who died nearly 10 years ago while leading a 125cc race in Estonia proving it’s not just the big bikes that are dangerous. David Jefferies, a big man in more ways than one, was also killed while road racing in 2003 during a practice session for the Isle If Man TT. Steve Hislop, another great road race rider, also died in 2003 when he crashed his helicopter which although tragic does show you have to live life to the full as the worst could happen at any time.

On a less morbid note John McGunness could well surpass Joey Dunlop as the greatest road racer of all time as he currently has 15 TT wins as opposed to Dunlop’s 26.

There is a definite difference between road race riders and WSD or MotoGP riders and it is quite rare to find one who can be successful in both types of events.

Guy Martin is a legend, I’ll never forget watching a post TT race interview he did when he was on such a high he looked like he consumed his body weight in Bolivia’s finest! He also happens to have very good taste in cars!

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You know, I'm very appreciative of these riders racing on these roads. Lot of intense racing on these long courses. You need great patience and obviously lots of courage to race these courses. Something like this would be near impossible (and far more dangerous) in the States.
 
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I wish they had Television coverage of this stuff in the States, seems pretty cool.
 
Pescara for GT5
I wish they had Television coverage of this stuff in the States, seems pretty cool.
Click to expand...

They do. It's on HDNet on DirectTV (I think that channel is on cable also). They've been playing the replays from last years TT practices (where the lap record was broken in 2009) and the races. 1080i HD, complete with onboard cams, heli shots and even super-slo-mo. The super-slo-mo was wicked; you could see the aero deformation on the windscreen and fairings, tire deformation as they stick it into the corners, etc... I just watched the practice sessions last weekend again (for the upteenths time, it never gets boring). They even showed the sidecar event highlights, which is the scariest thing you'll ever see in racing. In fact, sadly, a couple of souls lost their life last year in the event. They actually hit a 'hare' (rabbit) on the road. Sad. The rest of the sidecar events were cancelled after that. And they weren't the only crashes prior to the cancellation. The TT is the wildest form of motorsport still active. I would love to see it in person.
 
watch the nw 200 races 2010

would say the best race in 2010 ...moto gp etc was boring

2010 nw 200 up to 7 riders battle for the win

the supersport race with allistair seeley was the best out of there


and i got this game too... i got 2 versions

best lap was arround 15.58 min with the black horse kawa (isle of man) without boost^^
 
When I was 18, I was in greece with some friends for the summer. We were staying in a fairly isolated town(kavos). We all rented 125cc bikes. I remember at the time, the guy asked me If I knew how to ride a bike (as I was clearly the youngest). I said yes, trying to act really confident before almost hitting a wall.

After a few days I was really accustomed to the handling and started going unnecessarily fast, although I occasionally left the stand down and didn't find out until I felt it grind along the ground. Anyway, Kavos was a town setup for 18-30 tourism (although years later, I heard there was a famous monastery there... Not that I saw it). There was one main road and the odd side road forked off from it. There were no pavements (sidewalks) just enough room for 2 lanes of traffic (barely). The main road was lined with buildings and for the most part it was straight until you got to one building that stuck out, that I referred to as "the chicane". Smithy's sex shop to everyone else. After that the road gently curved until you got to the end of town and there was a hairpin that pointed you towards the hills. Keep going and the road's start rising pretty steeply, twisting to fit the land, trees all around you but the road continues through nothing but blind corners. At the side of the road, there was an ever rising drop. Eventually you come to the steepest part of the climb (and some nice houses), Where you're faced with a brick wall, but there's another hairpin. At this point the road starts to level out and before you know it, descend the other side of the hill. Eventually you come to a serious of hairpins, (lookout for escaped animals here. I almost ran over a chicken here) one after the other until you're near ground level. Then there's a serious of fast, bumpy, turns, past the burned out old factory, and eventually, you'll reach the dual carriageway. Turn down the dual carriageway towards the sea and take the first exit on your right (after a nice blast down the straightest part of the "course".) You'll have to negate the bumpy and tricky road back to town. Carefull as there's a sudden drop mid corner on the way. Soon, the town will be back in sight.

The length of this was about 6 miles. Some friends and I used to race this route as it was fun, technical, and provided no room for cheating (all other roads either took longer, or took you in the wrong direction.

It was such a thrill and I felt the right mixture of exhiliration and fear. Looking back at it, it was dangerous. We were racing on open public roads. Fair enough, we used to do it when the roads were empty (7am seemed the best time) and it was only the short section of the town where there was any danger of seeing anyone else. All the other roads were deserted. It wasn't my safety I was concerned about, more the safety of innocent bystanders, and I think I proved that when I almost ran into a wall one day, trying to avoid some drunk girl that wandered in front of me. Anyway, fun times.

We stopped racing that route as I was almost taken out by some local guy in an evo. Seemed we were not the only one's to have found that road. I had to bail off my bike to avoid him. The bike was beat up to hell. I didn't have any serious injuries but was battered and bruised. The guy in the evo took off before I even got up. Seems there's a moral to the story.

But I'm all for Legalised road racing. While the racing I did in Greece, didn't really compare to the likes of the IOM TT, it was great fun. Hope to go to the IOM TT sometime soon.
 
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