The Isle of Man TT circuit and the machines riders use to tackle these death-defying timed trials have changed considerably since the 1960s. Yet the basic riding techniques used by a six-time winner of one of the most challenging (and possibly deadly) races in the world, can still be applied to your motorcycle riding and racing skills today. In the film, “Racing and Roadcraft,” shared by PeriscopeFilm on YouTube, Geoff Duke (properly Geoffrey Ernest Duke OBE), the actual six-time winner of the Isle of Man TT between the years 1949 and 1955, takes viewers, along with a group of young men and editor Bob Holliday of Motor Cycling magazine, through his expert advice on truly any circuit.
The video is obviously a planned event, which becomes more obvious in the latter half of the film. However, Duke begins his introduction awkwardly playing off the convenient happenstance of a crowd of interested gentlemen who recognized him and wanted a walkthrough of the famed circuit. The bus for “Scott’s Tours” becomes the most convenient accoutrement to just “appear” for the sake of the film.
Duke’s advice is voiced over the entire tour, so while he is explaining the approaches to the men in the video, the visual medium doesn’t always match up and can be difficult to follow. That is rectified a bit in the latter half of the film though, when Duke, seated with Holliday, walks through the same corners with cardboard visuals of the corners. In some cases, the film cuts to a motorcycle demonstrating the racing lines — one of only a few times you’ll see a bike in the picture.
Sweeping corners and mid-air mistakes
His first stop is Bradden Bridge — the second milestone on the course map from that era (if you want to follow along), provided on the Isle of Man TT site. The good motto to remember when approaching this section is to “make haste slowly.” It sounds contradictory, but as Duke explains, “as with so many double corners, it’s no use coming into the first part like a scolded cat if your speed puts you in such a position that you can’t use maximum acceleration to get away from the second part.” You wanna set yourself up for success taking the corners on a more even plane so you can accelerate quickly out of the last one.
This is also a good reminder to be prepared for Duke’s explanations to be delivered as odd analogies and examples, much like the scolded cat above. A favorite of mine involves late-braking and ending up through the door of a pub.
Duke’s next stop takes viewers through one of the quickest parts of the course following the 13th marker at the Bottom of Barregarrow, where riders will quickly come upon and across the Ballaugh Bridge. The TT winner indicates it’s a fairly technical spot where good riders can get through “fast and clean” while the ones unsure of their path could lose seconds on their time trial. This bridge also happens to be a big spot for photographers as they can snap riders mid-air while they add seconds to their run time — “time spent in mid-air is time wasted,” he says. They might not win the trial, but hey, at least they’d get a sweet shot.
Know your limitations and the machine’s
Perhaps Duke’s most important advice, as he himself labels it, is that a rider simply needs to “know his limitations and those of his machine.” He adds, “once he is aware of these he can plan his approach to any particular circuit and devise ways of overcoming them so that every ounce of effort goes into the business of getting his machine ’round quickly and safely.” There’s nothing further to elaborate there. Knowing your machine as a cyclist or driver is essential to peak performance in any race. If you know your vehicle you will know how to move it, when to move it and how far it can go before reaching disaster. You can push it to the limit, safely.
Most of the advice in this somewhat slower-paced short film is directed at specific runs on the Isle of Man circuit, but many of Duke’s technical approaches, conveniently explained twice in different ways throughout this film are really applicable to motorcycle racing as a whole. His final words to viewers remain mighty relevant to anyone riding anywhere today.
“Remember, there is a world of difference between taking calculated risks under the controlled conditions of a racing circuit and taking unnecessary ones on a public highway. Get to know your machine. Keep it under control all of the time.”
“‘Safety first,'” he adds, “might be a bit of a cliche, but it still saves lives. Good luck.”
Join me weekly as I introduce a new(er), sometimes nostalgic video worth adding to your Watch Later lists. Leave a note in the comments if you find an older or interesting film you’d like to see featured.
