Beyond the Blade – TT Special 2025 Part 2
I, I was more nervous actually, I would
say at the start of the super stock race two, because when you’ve won the first
race, you’re expected to win the second. So you thinking, oh right. So, so you feel like, I felt like
I had more pressure of the fact that I had to, now you’ve got to
perform so well at that level again. But then I stepped, I sort of stood
there looking at it and thinking, well, I’ve already done it once
you can, you can do it again. But even though you think that it’s
implementing it, two different things. This is my 35th season. I can’t win now, but I still want
the team to win as a, as a brand. And, and, and I love Dean to bits. He’s a straight talking, no
nonsense, knows what he wants. Northerner. He has definitely put his
heart and soul into it. He’s trained harder over the
winter, flying on the 600, and he’s hungry and he wants it. And it gets to that point where,
you know, you’re at the top and then you, you, you just wanna win. And you’ll just push that a
little bit harder to, to win. Uh, but I mean, a couple
of great races to win. I don’t think anybody saw that coming In the second superstar race. I didn’t wanna go mad from the start
too much ’cause I thought this is a three lap race now on one tire. And lap. I need to save some tire for lap fee. So it were like P1 +2.00, P2
-0.00, P1 +2.00 down the mountain. And then I came outta the pits
and I was like, I didn’t know what would happen in the pits. And my next pit board will P1 +16.00. So I thought it would P1 +1.60. So I carried on. Then my next pit model, P1
+18.00, and I fight with P1 +1.80. So I carried on it once I got P1 +20.00
that the penny actually dropped of. You’ve got a 20 second lead
here, so I thought, right, I better, I better knock it back .
I thought, well, I’m around. I’m like going up the mountain now with
20 second lead on lap two and I thought. There’s no way someone’s gonna
make 20 seconds on me at this pace. And, uh, you’re listening to every little
knock and bang that the bike’s making. The engine’s absolutely singing, like
when you go on the edge of the tire side to feather the throttle, just
so it didn’t hit the red limiter. Just to give the engine
a bit of an easier life. I’m thinking I. Please get to the end. Please get to the end. Like I said, do the double, you
said that, before we set off Again. I’d like to think I was, you know, a
part of that, that journey for him to. To win this this week. And you know, it, it, it was epic. It was epic. When he passed me first race, he
caught me earlier than the second race, which I’m happy about. Was a personal best for me, for him not
to catch me as early, uh, but to watch him in that zone and fair, fair, fair. Can I say that? Yeah. To be on the top spot, get a double in the
soup stock, and then in the way he did it and the way he rode and lap one, lap two. In the shorter race
and, and then yesterday. It is an unbelievable feeling. Like I say, you know, you, you
do feel so pleased, proud with everybody, everybody in the team. Like I said, from guys in the,
the, the hospitality to all of the mechanics, whether it’s crew chief. Cammy and Stevie on the tires. Everybody, everybody involved. They’ve all played a part. They’ve all played a part and
they’ve all got on with it. And you know, to hear them shouting. Deano, Deano Can I get a cue on the count of three? Yeah. One, two. Alright, My Stocker We can have a deal for it at some point. Stocker buy it can’t I. Yeah, we
can do something, yeah, do some. Yeah. I like that. Are, are they kind of, do you know
what just thing now what I’ve lost for the next two years that Stocker
will be in every dealership I’ve just, I’ve kept you to leave with flies on
just ve I’ve kept the two race wheel. Wheel tires. Yeah. I’ve got the oil out of the first
race oil out the second race. So we’re doing an oil analysis with Motul. Got the problem is it’s
put back into that hybrid. We’re gonna use it as senior. Oh yeah, you have to. So I’ve gotta go back there,
there, you know, it’s just a whole that, that wasn’t my question. Right. But it’s still in there. The garage in the truck put away nicely. So your your, we can have
a little deal with that. We can, yeah. Okay. Might lose my job now. P 45 coming, so Yeah. But I’ve got a list of jobs for you. Yeah, but what do you mean? Yeah, but must got no,
John, you all right? Your deal’s there for life. If you wanna ride, you
wanna ride, you wanna ride? What do we say? What do we say? As long as you enjoying it. You enjoyed it yesterday. That’s great. No, that’s it. So that’s what I need. Problem is when you go out in
those conditions, when we first came here, I didn’t like that. You didn’t like, and that that
sort of rattled you a little bit. I didn’t catch up. Did I? Yeah, so you were just on the back
foot from that and it’s all very well us standing here, but you are the one
riding out there in those conditions. And I think not only the
dampness but the wind, the, the first was set off the line
for , the inspection app, which I agree. I think they’re a good idea. Because it does give good feedback
to the, to the organizers. And I set off down Bray hill, went over
St Ninians in at the top of Bray Hill. And I, my, i, my bike were very lively and
much more lively that has been all week. And I thought we’ve made a couple
of changes, but not changes that had make this happen and the head were
buffeting about and things down the hill and the, the wind were bad even
on the bottom part of the track. Like by the time we got to the
mountain, we’re lent over gonna, the Mountain mile we’re lent over just
trying to go in a straight line. And that’s the thing that the spectator
keyboard warriors don’t see ’cause they’re not sat on the bike doing 180 mile an hour
up the mountain, put it this way the wind were that bad coming down the mountain. When I pull in, I says to
’em, are yokes are twisted. The yokes are bent Them
yokes aren’t straight. Not a chance them yokes are
right, They ain’t right?. You’re going down I can
see me yokes are off. I came in and said. What yokes have we put in this,
it feels like the yokes twisted and like, no, they’re brand new. I’m like, well, I’m just counter
steering in a straight line then, which is mind blowing. I look down towards, uh, even was
hillberry when I’m the lower part of the mountain and I’m getting blown. And you’ve got like, you’ve got banks
either side of you there, so it’s almost like you do have a little bit of wind
protection and I’m going in straight line, right, and the front’s light. And you’re counter steering saying
like Something wrong here and it just, it’s just outside wind effect. It’s mind blowing. I’ve never had it like that. We get the rider liasing officer,
come and ask us our opinion, and they asked me, Davey, uh, John, Josh James. But they spoke to us all
individually and then you don’t get like a, an influenced answer. And we all said exactly the
same thing of the conditions. So even like Sean Anderson were
in there and we all said the same thing without talking to each other. There’s patches, all over
the mountain that I usually. 32nd, it’s there and it but its the wind. The wind will catch you up coming here. It’s blowing you into
windy corner from behind. Right, right, right. They then make their decision on what, so
not what we’ve said is their fundamentally their decision, but it’s good to know that
they are listening to us and we’re all experienced riders and if we’re having big
problems with the wind and you can’t go in a straight line and you’re lent over
like this, the less of experienced riders that are still learning the track think
how difficult it’s gonna be for them. Yeah. Um, so it’s a bit of a unusual situation,
and one, to be honest, I’ve never witnessed before at the TT I don’t think. And the conditions as in the conditions of
the road is, okay, that’s rideable, that’s raceable, but the wind is horrendous. Uh, so the riders are now
having a little get together. and making a decision between them,
which is brilliant for the TT to do that, to include the riders and
go, right, let’s put it to a vote, or let’s discuss what can we do? Can we delay it? Is the wind gonna drop? And that’s what they’re doing now. So it’s not so much. Damp patches. It is not the condition of the road. It’s more to do with the wind
Attention Paddock, Attention Paddock. Um, as you all know, uh, the course
the rider have now come back. The competitors have now come
back off the sighting lap. The, the issue is tonight is that
obviously, uh, we’ve had the weather, we’ve had today, the, the course
is dry, but the wind speed is, is obviously significant, particularly,
uh, over the mountain and indeed. On various, uh, areas of the course,
uh, on along the bottom, but the direction is the first time, uh,
you all would’ve ridden in a North Northwesterly direction tonight. It’s always been South
Southwesterly up until this point. So, bearing in mind rider safety,
uh, I’m afraid that the senior race for 2025 is cancelled. I’m sorta deflated. Yeah, I, I just, I’m in all the factory
gear, got the number one on my bike, is just how many more times we’re
gonna be able to do that, you know? Next year they might
see me through the grid. I might never be able to do
it at number 1 again, so. So yeah, positives, nine races, Deano
wins two, drills it into everybody. I don’t think anybody saw that coming. So glad it did. So that’s it for TT 2025. Last year we came with a new bike,
a new rider, and we got podiums. But this year, Dean Harrison has come
away with two Superstock stock wins. John has proved his worth and showed
how fast he still is despite his age. It’s been an amazing TT one
that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. Yes, there was no senior. But in my mind, that was the
correct decision by the clerk of the course and the riders. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the TT. I can’t wait to come back here
next year, but the next time you see me, I’ll be back at BSB.
Here it is – the epic finale of Beyond the Blade’s privileged insider view of Honda Racing at the 2025 Isle of Man TT. After a decade of near-misses, the factory team roared to a clean sweep of Superstock TT wins as the event reached an emotional crescendo.
Here’s to next time!
#HondaRacing #Fireblade #CBR600RR #BeyondtheBlade
