2022 Isle of Man TT: Back to the Mountain

The 2022 Isle of Man TT was a long time coming. It had been 1087 days since a Superbike had last lapped the Isle of Man TT course when practice kicked off for TT 2022 in late May. This would be the longest hiatus for the annual event since World War II.

Like many others, I began to question whether we would ever see racing at the Isle of Man again – how would the TT recover? Fortunately, upon returning to the Isle of Man to assist in the media coverage of the 2022 TT, it didn’t take long for those questions to be answered…

From the get-go, TT 2022 felt like there hadn’t been a break at all, and the event even took a big step forward in many respects. This didn’t happen by chance, either – there had been a huge amount of work done to ensure this year's TT delivered on all fronts.

I discussed this year's changes directly with the TT Business Development manager for the Isle of Man Government, Paul Phillips. Yes, the Isle of Man TT is run and funded by the Isle of Man Government itself! One positive to the pandemic was it gave Paul and his team time to research and analyse exactly who was watching the TT, who was visiting the TT, and where the event sat on the global motorsport stage. This work showed both generational and territorial gaps in the event’s fanbase.

To ensure the future of the event it had to address these issues or risk falling into decline. So, for the first time, this year the TT had live streaming of every on-track session and race. Not only did this allow anyone around the globe with an internet connection to access the action, but it also gave spectators in attendance the ability to follow the race on their digital device in-between actually seeing the bikes scorching past.

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Practice week got away to a strong start with Padgetts Racing rider Davey Todd setting a 127.492mph lap aboard his Honda Fireblade. This was over 1mph faster than the opening night's fastest time of 2019. It was obvious the break hadn’t slowed the riders down.

In just the second session, BMW M 1000 RR-mounted Peter Hickman was the first to break the 130mph mark before Dean Harrison (2019 Senior TT winner) logged a 131.767mph the following night.

By Thursday evening’s session, Hickman had set a 133.22mph lap, ensuring a healthy margin between him and the chasing competition. Friday's final practice session was affected by light rain, so no faster solo times would be set. With the road drying for the final sidecar session, it was the undisputed class favourites Ben and Tom Birchall logging a 117.516mph to top the strong field of outfits.

I was impressed with the practice lap speeds in all classes, considering the riders had endured such a long break from riding the course. It's worth reminding ourselves that each lap is 37.7 miles (60.7km) in length and has well over 200 corners. Add to that the continuous changes in elevation, camber and road surface, and you've got a lot to process at an average speed of over 200km/h!

The course itself hadn’t changed a great deal apart from some minor re-surfacing making it smoother in some areas, while other parts had deteriorated and had more bumps. One issue I noticed while driving the course myself was the increase in tree cover. The two previous warm summers had boosted the amount of vegetation, and this restricted competitors’ vision in some places. Many were complaining of the strobe-like effect of the sunshine bursting through the trees, especially in the early evening practice sessions on the stretch from Union Mills to Ballacraine.

I was kept busier than ever with media duties as the TT+Live subscription service produced over 40 hours of content during the two-week event. Without any chance to test many of the new media systems for this year, practice week was the time to iron out any issues.

This year saw 25 live camera crews covering the action, double the usual number, plus one instead of two helicopters. All footage was relayed directly to the media HQ building on the Isle of Man and streamed globally with just a 30-second delay. Onboard bike footage was then added to each day's edited highlights package.

The TT+Live service ensured there were plenty of recorded features, interviews and footage that would normally be missed, and it gave those yet to visit the TT a greater idea of what makes this event so unique.

Race week didn't see any course records broken but that was due to course conditions being slightly more challenging than usual, with cold temperatures and high winds. In saying that, the times set in most classes were only seconds off the current records!

Peter Hickman took home the prestigious Senior TT win, along with the Joey Dunlop trophy as the highest points scorer for TT 2022. Hickman confirmed why he was the hot favourite for this year’s event as he become just the fourth rider ever to win four TT races in a single week. Not only did he win the Superbike, Superstock, Supertwin and Senior TT, but he also secured second and third in the two Supersport TT races!

It was Michael Dunlop who took victory in the two Supersport races. Dunlop now has a total of 21 wins under his belt, third on the overall winning list behind John McGuinness with 23, and Michael's uncle, the late great Joey Dunlop, on 26. You can’t help but think the pandemic hasn't helped Michael's chase to equal the efforts of his uncle.

Both Sidecar races were won convincingly by the pairing of Tom and Ben Birchall, recording their 11th TT win, and making it their eighth win in a row.

Before leaving the Isle, I had a quick chat about this year’s attendance numbers with Rob Callister from the Isle of Man Department of infrastructure. He explained that although the government had predicted this year's attendance to be down due to post-pandemic hesitancy and travel disruptions, visitor numbers were surprisingly up by 10 per cent over 2019.

Tragically, this year was marred by five deaths during competition. Three in sidecar incidents, and two on solo machines in four separate single-vehicle crashes. Although the competitors and fans know the dangers of the TT, it’s never easy to accept it when a life is lost.

The difficulty and danger of the TT are what make it such a challenge, and it is the reason riders have pitted themselves against the testing Mountain course for over 100 years. Sadly, that danger can also take a rider’s life. We love the excitement that the danger delivers but not the consequences that can result. After each of these incidents, not a single competitor (many of whom would be close friends of those lost) withdrew from the competition.

The TT is the final frontier of real road racing and after two years of pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions, it felt amazing to once again be among people sharing our passion for motorcycles, for racing, and for this truly unique and historic event.