Arriving on the Isle of Man for this legendary 60 km race with no fewer than 264 corners...
Qualifying does not decide the starting order: it is set by the previous year's results. It's a time trial, with a crew starting every 10 seconds. Over the qualifying sessions, we improve the suspension set-up. Unfortunately, in one of the sessions a mechanical problem stops us and we crash on the Mountain... The machine is badly damaged, Ben is a little shaken and I have a sprained ankle. The team works day and night to repair the machine, while I have physiotherapy twice a day, and we are able to line up for race 2.
With the traditional tap on the shoulder at the start, we set off for two flying laps (shortened race). Unfortunately, an accident after Ramsey forces race control to show the red flag. A few hours later the race is restarted; we average just over 119 mph — a little over 190 km/h — and finish in second place!!! Incredible after the week's ups and downs...
